Rescue and Redemption
by MarvelFan2009
Summary: Julian Keller has left Xavier's after one of the worst incidents in School history and is now trying to regain some honour any way he can. Laura Kinney has been captured for nefarious purposes once more and needs help to escape, can they help each other?
1. Doll

Disclaimer: Writer not affiliated with Marvel in any way, shape or form, characters and original settings all belong to Marvel Comics. Just wanted to finally give these two a chance, been rooting for them since they met in New X-Men. Now let's all write Craig Kyle and Chris Yost and tell them to give these two a break in the comics, I think we can all agree they both deserve it!

Timeline Notes: M-Day has not happened in this timeline, nor did Laura/X-23 take part in joining the characters of NYX, but her personal timeline before NYX is intact. Claremont's X-Men run and by extension and the events in New X-Men have not involved Laura Kinney at all. Similarly, events that became possible by M-Day such as Civil War, Messiah Complex and Secret Invasion will not have occurred. (Mass mutant rebellion against Registration would have fielded advantage to the Anti-Registration side after all). Julian Keller has left the Xavier Institute approximately one year before the story takes place, but the Hellions Mini and his activity in New Mutants Volume 2 and New X-Men: Academy X have all taken place.

Character Notes: Estimating Julian to be 17 years old at the time of this and Laura to be about 16 years old given Comic timelines move in strange and mysterious ways and characters are suddenly younger and older for no reason. Maintaining Laura's tendency of not using contractions and slang when she talks as seen in New X-Men and X-Force. Also taking my best guess on Laura's personality in this time line and how it would evolve over time.

Note for "M" Label: Contains strong language, strong sexual themes with some graphic description in certain chapters with intermittent violence and some scenes of torture. Not for younger readers of course, but it's the internet and I doubt anyone's taking maturity labels seriously… Not all chapters will contain everything above, so relax, not a wall-to-wall smutfest.

Chapter One: Doll

X-23 or Laura Kinney, whatever she was called it seemed it did not matter, she always found herself being used by someone for their profit. She had been living on the street as a prostitute, but avoiding actual sex acts whenever possible. Zebra Daddy had customers were into self-mutilation and she was well equipped to do so with her claws. She hadn't wanted to live like that, but living on the street was the best way to stay off the Facility's radar and that's all she could think about to make a living, the thought of falling under the influence of the trigger scent one more time made her want to plunge her claws into her skull.

Then she'd been sold by Zebra Daddy for what she was presumed to be a lot of money. Of course she had not known this until she had been taken. She had been captured while walking back to the building she was squatting in when two other mutants caught her in a side alley, one neutralized her powers, and the other put her in so much pain with a single touch she blacked out on the spot.

She didn't know where she woke up, but she had awoken naked and surrounded by four very large men, normally it would have taken less than three seconds to kill them all, but her powers were gone. Even her ability to extend her claws was gone, the muscles controlling them seemed to be frozen and refused her commands. The four men pounded her with metal pipes and her arms and legs were broken by the blows, her ribs were nearly all cracked and her skull was fractured before they stopped. She woke up, the beating had knocked her out and found herself securely strapped down and still naked but healed. A man in the corner who told him her powers were his to give and take away at will and this was the first lesson she would learn, The Club owned her and her powers, they would say when she would have them. He told her he knew about the claws and he just wasn't able to disable mutant powers, he could selectively paralyze parts of a person's body, he stopped her lungs for ten seconds to illustrate his point. The mutant would then take her powers right away again, she was taken and beaten again before she could even lift one fist in resistance. The initial torture went on like that for a while. There was no way to determine how much time passed, too much pain and disorientation from sleep deprivation to even gather how much time had passed since she had been taken. They wanted to make sure she got the message, they would only give her powers back so she could heal, then they would immediately take them away again.

While they were certainly good at breaking down the wills of runaways, Laura had both fortunately and unfortunately spent her youth with the Facility and was no stranger to pain. She was confident she would find the will to resist long enough to escape. If the power-draining mutant lost his attention for the wrong moment, even without her claws she had seventeen different ways to disable him with a first strike, then he would have to either give Laura her powers back or the second would be fatal. However the reality of her abduction was far worse than she had initially gathered.

Laura had been abducted by an organization called The Club she was told and they specialized in offering the services of mutant girls and women. Her initial initiation into her understanding of the Club was what she had been able to pick up when she was given little time to sleep in a tiny cell for new captives with had only a bucket for her to use as a toilet and a few scraps of food and some water to drink. Laura instead forced herself to stay awake rather than rest on the cold floor and listened for whatever information she could gather. Even without her advanced hearing, no one was being exactly quiet about what went on and she learned a few things about The Club's operations.

The enslaved mutants had been abducted specifically because their powers made them useful as sex slaves for very wealthy men. It was a whorehouse with fancy dressing, filled with mutant sex slaves and a few sadistic mutants who got off on controlling the others. The poor mutant girls were used by their clients for whatever fantasy was required, shape shifters made to impersonate whoever a client could not have outside The Club. The second set of mutant types seemed to be those with physical mutations, women with body fur, exotic skin colours, or even types of skin, different body appendages such as tails or wings, termed Exotics. The third kind of mutant abductee, although it seemed most of them were actually working with The Club instead of having been abducted were those called the Inducers. These were the women who had the ability to manipulate one's physical body into feeling pain, pleasure or simply animal lust. From the way they talked or were talked about, it seemed they had rank and privilege well above the other slaves Laura thought about why her abilities had been so prized that she had been abducted, then she'd heard about another girl who healed quickly, apparently Laura was only one of a few mutant healers The Club had managed to kidnap. The girl in question seemed to be used almost exclusively by clients interested in sadomasochistic rituals. The utility of a fast-healing slave seemed simple enough, the girl could be abused brutally for hours and not show a mark for her next client, but the injuries could still be inflicted and the slave would still feel pain.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but t the next stage of Laura's 'training' began, now that her captors were sure she understood that her powers were gone until they gave them back. She was strapped down onto a table quite securely and met two Inducers, the ones who could give people pleasure or pain. One introduced herself as Bliss and told Laura it was best to accept her lessons. If she behaved, obedient slaves only dealt with the Inducers who gave pleasure. The other called herself Pain and warned Laura for each mistake she made, she would be there to teach her the error of her ways and the name was apt, she directly stimulated pain receptors, one touch and she could feel like a spear had impaled her. The conditioning was simple in execution and Laura was able to maintain resistance, but she was concerned, simple torture methods were often the best. It was how she had become a slave to trigger scent. At first, words like obey, pet, slave, submit, serve were repeated over and over when Bliss filled her with pleasure sensations. Then Pain took over, saying words like freedom, free, resist, rebel and disobey were filled with sensations like someone was jabbing knives into every point in her body. Laura was unsure how long the sessions went on, but there were at least ten of them before she was visited by the owner of The Club after a session had ended .

"So, how do you like it here?" The owner called himself King, he was a telepath from what she had managed to hear.

"Not talkative? Well that isn't going to do you know, most of our clients like to hear a few screams out of their pets." King went on as he placed his hand against her face, then began running his hand across her naked body. Laura shuddered, then imagined putting her claws straight through his face, that helped a little.

"Naughty little girl, you think I didn't see that?" Master said mockingly and tapping his right temple, then a massive explosion of pain went off in her head.

"That's what bad little pets get, they get worse every time you disobey. That was a little psychic bomb, believe me, you do not want to make me really angry." King said walking around her and feeling her body some more.

"I normally meet my pets very early in the training process but you're a unique challenge so far. You have strong psychic defences that made it very hard to work past at first but I've managed to make myself my own door into your mind now. I've also installed certain commands in your head now and an actual demonstration of what they are is best to reinforce the point." King told her as he nodded for Pain and Bliss to undo her restraints, he motioned Laura to get off the table, which she did. Laura then saw the man in the corner of the room who had taken away her powers and felt them all returning, even the ability to extend her claws.

Laura was unsure of what the psychic commands were but there was a chance he had not broken past all of her own psychic defences and she was still in control. The disabler would have to be first to ensure survival, then she would have to kill Pain, Bliss and King before any of them could use their abilities against her. Her claws came out and she took a jump towards the drainer aiming to take his head off with the first strike. Laura had already calculated he might react in time and had her left fist aimed so eve if the powers went away, she'd crush his throat with the blow and kill him. Her powers might return immediately and if they did not, they would have a far more difficult time controlling her without him.

Her attempted escape was short-lived as her body betrayed her. She lost all control of her body and fell to the ground, then her right first, claws still extended twisted around and suddenly she had stabbed herself with her own claws. The pain was excruciating and wouldn't stop, as she couldn't force herself to retract her claws and allow herself to heal.

"That was your object lesson on trying to escape. I have placed a command in your subconscious, if you try to harm me, you will become be paralyzed until I decide to release you. You stabbing yourself with your own claws there is just reinforcement, trust my pet, the next time you make a move like that it will be ten times worse. The same goes for harming any of my employees or any of the girls in some foolish attempt to use a hostage to try and escape. Though if a client wants you to whip or be whipped by another girl, it will be made possible. You also have a command to prevent you from killing or harming our clients, but if they give you a directive to do something specific to them because they're masochistic, you will be allowed to do it. If they tell you to smack them with a riding crop or spank them because they like it, you will be allowed and required to do it. You violate the terms of the harm you are allowed to do to one and you will be paralyzed and the clients will be able to give you a private lesson in obedience. Also, since I have to do is have Switch turn your powers on, as long as you're breathing when they're done that will be just the start of your punishment. Don't think you can just hang yourself and be done with it either, you have also bee programmed against committing that as well, plus anything that would harm your appearance. I don't need my pets carving their faces up suddenly in front of their clients, even with your fast-healing skin it would put them off. You will not be getting your abilities for yourself until I am convinced you're a nice and docile pet, we'll just have to turn them on and off when our rougher clients are done working you over for the time being. Wastes time but one can never be too careful when breaking in a new toy." King lectured on in a threatening voice, mixing in a softer, gentler one as he called her a pet and a toy. Laura lay there bleeding out and continued to try and fight her way past the giant wall in her head preventing her from retracting her claws.

King then looked down at her, her claws retracted and she healed as he made sure she was looking straight at him.

"Is that understood?" Laura looked up and nodded, deciding that defiance would not buy her anything at this point. She had been a tool for years before and broken free, she would do so again.

"Good, now get up." Laura reluctantly stood up and kept her head low, deciding that subservience was the best way to stay out of trouble for now.

"Consider yourself fortunate, when I first started The Club my tendency was to install much more direct commands into your brain that would compel you to have sex with someone the second you were told to. However we soon discovered the girls developed unhealthy mental issues as it created too much confusion in their minds after they were done servicing their clients. That and it was just so unoriginal the fucking they did, clients get bored with it too, better to make you a more willing participant." King warned her as he paced around her as she lay curled up on the floor _standard breakdown, remind the prisoner they're actually getting off easy. _

"These days, we just give you more subtle commands so you do not harm anyone and then I have girls like Bliss and Pain here…" King snapped his fingers and the two girls stood to each side of him and Bliss gave him several touches with her fingers to give him some pleasure pulses of his own.

"…Teach you how to behave like a good little pet. They're very good at what they help make you understand how it works here, good behaviour and obedience gets you pleasure with bed behaviour and disobedience giving you pain. It's very simple and effective. You're also rewarded in this way, it all makes you a much better pet for your client to enjoy. Now remember, if you do your job well tonight, I'll give you a special session with Bliss as a reward, if you upset your client, Pain will get you to herself." King finished, Laura still didn't move, she was trying to keep her mind blank to avoid any more of his psychic attacks.

"Bliss, come here and show… Doll, yes that should work. You'll just be a pretty little Doll that our customers can play with as much as they like and you won't say a thing unless they tell you to. Show Doll to where she's going to be sleeping and clean her up for tonight. Bring Angel Dust along to make sure she doesn't cause any trouble when you're getting her ready. Also have her stay with Angel Dust for the time being, I'd like to make sure she stays nice and docile when our clients aren't having fun with her. I told our young and strapping VIP before I came here I'd have her ready if he waited an extra hour and a half for me to get her ready. Don't forget to have her prepared for the clients we brought her in for either though." King said smirking, and then nodded to Bliss to take her away.

Bliss immediately followed King's instruction and took Laura by one arm and guided her out of the room and down a set of corridors until they reached what she guessed were the regular slave quarters. Bliss took her down the hallway until she picked the sixth door on the right and led her in. Laura was still not in a good position to resist so she continued to go along with her, attacking Bliss was impossible with the psychic block in her head. The room had single beds for two girls and not much else besides a bathroom with no shower, only a toilet and a small sink. It was quarters probably meant for girls like her, new or low-ranked slaves who hadn't 'worked' their way to the top. Her roommate seemed to be the one that Master had called Angel Dust, a blond girl wearing white lingerie that was see-through and hid nothing at all.

"King said to say this one stays with you while she's fully trained and you're to help me get her ready tonight, we need have her ready as quickly as possible for a VIP. Her name is Doll and she's meant for our bondage and S&M clients so we'll need to dress her for the part." Bliss snapped, seeming irritated that she had been relegated to such a task.

"Of course Bliss. I will gladly help." Angel Dust replied in a soft, submissive voice.

"Keep her nice and dopey, she's new and still learning the rules." Bliss said as Angel Dust came over and took Laura by the other arm as they took her back out of the room and back out of the corridor and down the hall.

Angel Dust was not particularly beautiful, but she obviously had a particular talent to please clients. Laura soon discovered what it was, she soon found herself strangely calm and eager to follow directions despite her mental resistance. It seemed Angel Dust had the ability to release pheromones that could affect those around her and had been picked especially to make sure Laura stayed obedient while she was prepared her for her first night as a sex slave. Angel Dust seemed to be in a lower position, new or relatively new and required to obey any order she was given from anyone including other slaves.

"King let you off pretty easy with that little move to stab Switch. When Angel Dust tried to run away she had private sessions with Pain for a week." Bliss nodded to Angel Dust wile leading Laura to the bathhouse for the slaves. Angel Dust held her other arm as they gently but firmly guided her path as she obediently followed her instructions. They arrived soon at what gathered was the common bathhouse for all the slaves, she saw seventeen different girls walking around or bathing.

"Just do what he asks and things will get better Doll. Bliss is so good at keeping us all in order and pleasing King she only has to serve the clients she likes." Angel Dust said as they took her over to an unused bath and indicated she was to get in. Laura did so obediently, glad to finally have a chance to wash off the blood, sweat, dirt and other bodily fluids from having spent who knows how long being beaten and tortured.

_All part of the brainwashing process_, _the other slaves reinforce King's message to make him seem benign_ _when obeyed. _Lauraconsidered as Bliss talked about how she'd treat Laura if she did her 'job' well. Angel Dust and Bliss worked to wash her up as urgency was key and she was not to take her time to try and avoid her fate. She allowed it to happen and began mental planning.

This would not be an easy escape, her first six escape plans had already been compromised and her remaining escape options all were focused around non-violent stealth escapes. While she was sure that any exit would require a keycard or key to access and even with one, there were probably guards there as well to make sure no slaves tried such a maneuver. It would likely take several weeks depending upon how much she was forced to service Club clients to effectively prepare a proper escape plan. She would need to know if any of the other slaves could be trusted to any degree or if they were all ready to turn her in for a chance at privileges or rewards. Next would be mentally mapping the slave quarters area, the area where clients were 'entertained' and any other place she could go without arousing undue suspicion. She would then have to locate possible exits in these areas and calculate which would probably lead to a viable escape. Then she would have to calculate a way to 'accidentally' get near a possible exit once she knew her surroundings and how secretive she would have to be around the other slaves. Then there would have be a chance to scout the exit, determine how access was granted and if there was some way for her to slip through if she created an indirect distraction to use to her advantage. No simple task, even if she had her enhanced mutant senses to give her an edge in concealment and being aware of her surroundings. She would have to use her training to use what she had. So far, she had noticed no clocks, again a disorientation method, their captors would tell them whether it was time to sleep, eat, bathe or serve the clients. There were no and the vents were numerous, but far too small to access, even for her slim frame. She imagined there were further surprises in those vents for enterprising shape shifters who had not quite given up one escape.

It was a lot of planning and she was unaware what the long-term effects of Bliss and Pain's conditioning treatment would be like, had Angel Dust been completely broken down over two weeks or ten? If she became mentally or physically addicted to Bliss's abilities along the way, it might not be possible for her to escape at all. While she he had been trained to ignore pain, she was unaware of the finer details of Bliss's abilities and how they could affect her mind in the long term. They would no doubt be more seasons with Bliss and Pain along the way to blot out her instinct to escape. The conditions were far from favourable but the Facility had instilled in her one prime directive, Do Not Fail. Laura would do everything she could to ensure she followed that one directive to escape from The Club.

Angel Dust and Bliss finished cleaning her off after ten minutes of work and told her to get out of the bath. Laura obeyed again and quickly flashed her eyes around to notice tones of voice, body language and demeanors coming from which girls. They were all actual slaves, no hidden wardens among them that Laura's quick observations could determine. It seemed Bliss was part of a very elite class that either had their own set of quarters or were so few in number that it was possible none of them were around in the bathhouse. They led her to a second area that was filled with a half-dozen slaves in various forms of preparation for their service to clients.

Laura was told to sit in a chair and not move and again she complied, best to play the part while she continued to evaluate her surroundings. It was not easy to either summon resistance either, Angel Dust hovered around and was keeping her moderately tranquilized with her pheromones. Angel Dust and Bliss dried her hair and combed it out until it fell into a long, straight waterfall down her back. It had grown to fall to mid-back since she had been captured. Black lipstick and black eye shadow were applied while her eyebrows were plucked and Bliss directed Angel Dust to shave her everywhere below her waist. Laura was almost ready to fight back over that but Angel Dust hit her with a new wave of pheromones that calmed her body and her protest halted. She was then ordered to brush her teeth quite thoroughly and take a set of breath mints, while her brief moments of having a healing factor had prevented her teeth from rotting out, she doubted her breath was very inviting right now. Her nails were painted black as well to coordinate her overall appearance. They also sprayed her with perfume, nothing too noticeable and the scent was unfamiliar without her enhanced senses.

Looking at Laura in the mirror and seeming satisfied, Bliss then told her to stand up and follow her to the extensive wardrobe area for the slaves. A certain section of the clothing section was given over to S&M wear, Bliss quickly evaluated her naked body for size and picked an outfit. While it was hardly what she would call acceptable, it was marginally better than walking around naked. Laura raised no protest, better to play the sheep. A very tight bustier that was held together by black strings in the middle, exposing a good deal of her breasts was her only clothing on top. Black silk stockings and a black thong completed the outfit. Then she saw the bag under where her outfit had hung and Angelface quickly retrieved it.

Laura couldn't help but shudder at what she saw in the bag, Angel Dust seemed to try and offer her a reassuring smile but it did not help. Bliss and Angel Dust produced restraints from the back, black leather cuffs that fixed around her wrists and ankles, with chains that connected each set of leather cuffs together. Then Bliss tightened a black leather collar around her neck with an attached leash for her to be led around like a dog. Laura couldn't help but shudder at knowing what was coming, if the any of the other slaves noticed it, they gave no mention, likely either unspoken sympathy for another fellow slave about to violated for the first time. It was that or they just didn't care or think it was important. Laura did her best to keep her mind empty and not think about what she would have to do, but only that she would escape if she kept herself under control and made good escape plans. Laura then found it hard to not be repulsed completely as Bliss revealed one more bit of clothing, a black leather fetish mask. Laura almost went for Bliss's throat right there but thought better of it, if she could survive being riddled with bullets several hundred times over and Kimura's savage beatings, she would endure this. Angel Dust stood behind her and gathered her hair up into a ponytail to be fit through the hole at the back of the mask to let it out. There was a gap for her mouth and nostrils, so Laura had some idea of why her mouth was not covered up. It was zipped up at the back and made her feel a bit claustrophobic.

"Ah, all set are we Doll? Wonderful job Bliss _and_ Angel Dust, can't forget your part in this, I think I'll have Bliss give you a little treat before you start tonight. I'll definitely have to show my new pet here to our VIP now. While the specialty you've been chosen for is probably not his particular taste, I would be remiss if I did not offer him the first chance to enjoy your charms." Laura heard King's voice, then felt again the creepy touch of his fingers as he touched the top of her breasts that stuck out from the tight bustier.

"Seraphim, take this one and take her just around the corner from the main lounge. Any of the other clients go wandering and ask about her tell them she's already been reserved for the evening and touching her is not permitted without violating Club rules. Bliss, give Angel Dust her treat and make sure the rest of these girls are ready, any of them drag their feet, have Pain give them a quick lesson in why it's important to be timely in preparation. We have a busy night and half of them have already been booked in advance." Laura felt her leash being taken by someone, then a hand taking her by the arm and guiding her somewhere, with warnings here and there to watch her step.

After a couple minutes of walking she was told to stop, felt the leash go slack and then told to not move or talk unless given permission by the unseen slave or guard called Seraphim. Laura did not think she was in any of the main rooms, they would likely be noisier and have a lot more activity to them, but she did hear a noticeable amount of noise from around the corner. It seemed if she was not chosen by this highly important client, she would soon be offered to the rest of them. Laura steeled herself internally for what was to come next.

"Who's this?" A young voice startled her out of waiting, whoever it was, he was barely older than she was, if that. From the proximity of the voice, he was practically in front of her.

"A new acquisition, just arrived recently and we've been training her very hard to have her ready for you. I'm pleased to say she is so far unspoiled in this club. Before that I cannot be certain, we test the girls regularly of course but her mutant power makes it irrelevant. This is Doll, we brought her in to cater to our S&M clients, but I'm sure we can give her over to you for the evening." That was King's voice answering the boy who seemed to be her first potential client. Laura stayed perfectly still, she didn't need a psychic bomb going off in her head before she was violated further.

"What mutant power is that?" The boy asked as Laura forced herself to not think about using her claws, King had to know she was thinking about it.

"She's a very powerful self-healer, if you were to try a little experimentation with S&M or similar activities she'd never show a scar or a bruise the next day. She'll stay perfectly beautiful for you no matter what." Master said, offering her body to use in a way that unnerved her further.

"Seems a shame to bruise this nice little body of hers at all, but the mask, seriously? You wouldn't be trying to pass a horseface around by covering it up would you?" The young voice said accusingly, Laura seethed at being appraised like livestock, but again, kept her focus as to not invite punishment.

"Sir, if when you her to your private suite and are not pleased by what you see when you take off the mask, I assure you, your payment for next month will be discounted by twenty percent." King countered as Laura felt herself pulled forward again with the chain, then felt it slip to another hand.

"Thank you Seraphim, now go finish preparing yourself, your first appointment is in twenty minutes and our client has been waiting for you to have an opening in your schedule all week," Laura heard, the girl who had been keeping her in place was released to prepare herself for her own first service of the night. Laura then felt the chain move to one more hand, but she was not being pulled any further.

"Bold statement, but you haven't disappointed me yet. I gather my room's already prepared with the usual refreshments?" Laura heard, and then felt herself being pulled along, hobbled by the chains.

"Of course sir, additionally, will you need anything to enjoy her specialty? You never did ask for your room to be stocked with more than the basic equipment. However I'm sure I could have some special tools sent up for the evening." Laura heard King calling after her first 'client'.

"I think I'll just enjoy her as she is, her body's much more interesting than her powers are to me. I do not want to be disturbed, understood?" Laura heard her client reply as she was further led along.

"Perfectly, enjoy her sir, you're in for a treat." King called after him, which was the last thing Laura heard before she was pulled off.

The man/boy held the chain firmly, but lightly, pulled her along to a private room, where she was then led to a specific point and felt it go slack.

"Stay there for now." Laura heard, then tensed again for whatever came next.

"That sick fuck thinks I'll get sloppy one of these days and forget to check this room for cameras so he can blackmail me. That's the sad part of this whole thing, he gets great money for selling you, but he gets crazy money when he blackmails the guys who use you when he catches it on tape." The young voice said as Laura heard him get closer again. _Why does he have to talk? Just get it over with _Laura thought to herself, confident that King couldn't listen in to everything, everywhere at once in the club, or he wouldn't have already placed so many restrictions upon her behaviour. Redundancy of such nature didn't fit him.

"Relax, this is probably going to be the best part of the day, as sad as that probably sounds to you." Laura heard as she felt him touch her, then felt him removing her restraints, first the ankle cuffs, then the wrist cuffs, then finally, the accursed collar.

"Now, let's have this mask off." Laura heard as she heard the zipper at the back pulled and finally breathed a bit of relief, despite what was coming. It was a brief moment's respite from the hot, sweaty, dehumanizing thing.

"Wow…" Laura heard as she looked into the face of what she had correctly suspected was a boy close to her own age, who seemed a bit taken aback and aroused by her appearance.

"They really haven't broken you yet have they? Don't worry I scrambled the surveillance in the room, they won't hear that. I can see it in your eyes, all the other girls here, they're either glazed over when I met their eyes or they're one of the freaks who like this place and like tormenting the girls like you. That's good, I've been waiting for you." The boy said, Laura eyed him suspiciously, noticing him looking into her cleavage for a brief moment.

"You can talk can't you? Or did they decide that using mutes was better for business?" The boy asked, continuing to leer at her, seemingly enjoying the view.

"What does it matter? Just get it over with." Laura finally snapped, then realized she had croaked that out, she had barely spoken a word since she had been taken.

"Relax, I'm not going to touch you again unless you let me. I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to help you. My name's Julian Keller and I've been waiting for someone like you since I heard about this place." The boy went in a confident voice as Laura found herself staring face to face with her first client.


	2. Hero Complex

Disclaimer: Writer not affiliated with Marvel in any way, shape or form, characters and original settings all belong to Marvel Comics. Just wanted to finally give these two a chance, been rooting for them since they met in New X-Men. Now let's all write Craig Kyle and Chris Yost and tell them to give these two a break in the comics, I think we can all agree they both deserve it!

Timeline Notes: M-Day has not happened in this timeline, nor did Laura/X-23 take part in joining the characters of NYX, but her personal timeline before NYX is intact. Claremont's X-Men run and by extension and the events in New X-Men have not involved Laura Kinney at all. Similarly, events that became possible by M-Day such as Civil War, Messiah Complex and Secret Invasion will not have occurred. (Mass mutant rebellion against Registration would have fielded advantage to the Anti-Registration side after all). Julian Keller has left the Xavier Institute approximately one year before the story takes place, but the Hellions Mini and his activity in New Mutants Volume 2 and New X-Men: Academy X have all taken place.

Character Notes: Estimating Julian to be 17 years old at the time of this and Laura to be about 16 years old given Comic timelines move in strange and mysterious ways and characters are suddenly younger and older for no reason. Maintaining Laura's tendency of not using contractions and slang when she talks as seen in New X-Men and X-Force. Also taking my best guess on Laura's personality in this time line and how it would evolve over time.

Note for "M" Label: Contains strong language, strong sexual themes with some graphic description in certain chapters with intermittent violence and some scenes of torture. Not for younger readers of course, but it's the internet and I doubt anyone's taking maturity labels seriously… Read entire chapters before judging please, nothing's written without purpose.

Chapter Two: Hero Complex

Julian Keller was not having a good day, or rather, he had not been having a good year. He'd left the Xavier Institute and gone to work for his parents, neither had been his idea but he had not had a choice. While he didn't have any real education, what lessons he had picked up from Xavier's school and his own mutant powers gave him a rather unique talent for his parents to utilize. It had taken some initial cajoling at first since he had been disowned following his little vacation with his former friends back home and his encounter with the Kingmaker. But he offered them what they didn't have before, a plausible way to cripple their competition without leaving a trace of evidence thanks to his telekinetic powers. He had no official position with his parent's companies, but the agreement did mean his trust fund was open to him and it was far more generous than it had been before.

He did his job very well, there was always some company or product that was threatening a business concern as large as his parent's so he always had work to do in the initial six months of working for them. He wore a black uniform and a mask when he did his work to avoid compromising his identity when he had to cause major damage, or would pretend to be touring a facility when more subtle sabotage was called for. Whether a satellite needed to be knocked out while it was launching, a few screws on piece of machinery had to come loose or a suspicious gust of wind sent vital papers flying out a window, he did his work. He'd become worth fifty million dollars inside of six months and he'd started his own private account in the Cayman Islands with some his trust fund money. While his parents probably didn't care how he spent the money he had, he didn't want them being able to have anything on him either so he had spent a good deal of time transferring money from one account to the other. When confronted about it, he had told them that if they just wanted him for his powers, he was just going to want their money, they hadn't really had a counter argument to that and left it alone.

There was also a hidden safe in the floor of the apartment he lived out of, filled with cash in case his parents one day became under investigation and decided to sell him out. He didn't think they would go that far as he was their son but he couldn't be sure either. He had two million dollars in cash, treasury bonds and Eurodollars along with three fake passports making him American, Canadian or British. He didn't even need to grab a plane with his powers, he could just fly himself where he needed to hide.

But while he was rich and successful and with his mutant powers, practically invulnerable to anyone short of the Avengers or the X-Men, he didn't like his life. There wasn't much work to do after six months, he'd put so many companies behind his parents competitively they were now either subsidiaries of Keller Enterprises or begging for a government bailout. His talents were less and less in demand and while that lowered the risk of him being caught on these jobs, doing them had given him the only thrill he'd felt since that very bad day at the Institute.

Julian soon found other ways to occupy his time, notably by delivering a few messages to anti-mutant groups, or anyone looking to hurt mutants in general. The Purifiers were his preferred target, it was strange how the roof of that cathedral they kept trying to build in L.A. would always collapse just when they were about halfway done. The cars parked outside their other buildings were always vandalized as if by local gangs, Julian found no need to sign the work and make it appear mutants were involved. Julian's favourite trick was screwing with the local head of the Purifiers, Julian had followed him home one night and went to work. The man's car was never parked where he left it, not upside down, but always somewhere els. The pictures in his home were always off-angle, the crosses and other religious symbols the same, nothing was as it should be no matter how he tried to stabilize them. Keys found in the fridge, cell phone was always in the laundry hamper, Tivo recording the gay lifestyle channel, it was amazing what a mischievious mind could do with telekinesis and not enough to do. It was childish, but it was also the only way he could laugh anymore, knowing he was making a man running the Purifiers slowly lose his marbles.

There were other things to do, Julian had season tickets to the hockey teams in California since he could fly to any of them on a moment's notice. No other sports, basketball had lost it's charm on him for some reason he couldn't remember, baseball he always found too boring and football for some reason never quite held his interest. That was it though, go see some hockey games, do some corporate sabotage and deliver messages to anti-mutant people, sometimes he could even make the memories of his last real day as an Xavier student go away.

The Club wouldn't go away though, in reality or in his mind. Julian had first heard about when he caught some men trying to abduct a young shape shifter. Julian had dangled one of them from a fifty-storey building, fake-dropping him six times until he finally sweated a confession out of him about why they wanted her so badly. That was the first mention he had about The Club.

It had been a lot of work to find out more, The Club was protected, you could only get there by use of a mutant teleporter and the owner, King had placed enough influence in so many law enforcement branches that trying to report them was pointless. The Club did not exist, so was the policy of the FBI and every city or state law enforcement branch he tried to pass the information on to. Those who weren't getting 'compensation' to turn a blind idea to missing mutants were bought off or just a bunch of anti-mutant bigots. The 'heroes' were not helping either. The X-Men knew what he had been doing since had had left and would hang up on him before he could get a word out and going back there well, he'd either face jail, an ass-kicking or worse if he tried to land on school grounds. SHIELD would probably deem the matter too small, or they had much bigger things to worry about which they sadly did, that a hundred imprisoned mutant sex slaves was low on the priority list. The Avengers were always breaking up or off in space, visiting another dimension or killing each other to notice what was going on outside Avengers Tower. Fantastic Four? They were the only ones who spent more time in other realities and dimensions than the Avengers, trying to contact them was useless.

Julian had decided if he was going to do anything about it, he would have to get inside to figure out how to bring it down and that had become the easiest part of the plan. With his kind of money, he bought his way into The Club the first day, it cost him a hundred thousand for a first-time visit , but that was pocket change compared to what he had access to. Julian remembered his first visit quite well.

"_Do you like it?" King asked as Julian just looked around, noticing the girls and women, heads bowed and being led around on leashes or just obediently following other men to private rooms._

"_So far, but I'm a little curious if the rumours I heard are true? I was told you feature only mutants for entertainment." Julian responded, then inquired as to if the nature was true and his own kind were the only ones kept as slaves. He saw one girl shape shift into a very eerie impersonation of Angelina Jolie for her client, then took him by the hand and led him off to a private room.._

"_We cater exclusively in exotic entertainment like nowhere else, we offer shape shifters, Exotics, that is women with rather unique features that you won't find ony homo sapiens woman such as wings or tails and believe me when I say they are trained to use them well. We also feature a number of Inducers, women capable of inducing great feelings of pleasure, desire, or even pain if you enjoy that sort of thing. We also have a few telepaths, very special those ones, not powerful at all, but they can read your mind and anticipate everything you want without you having to say a word." King said smiling and playing the good host._

"_No one here's going to notice I'm a bit young to hang around are they?" Julian asked, cautiously wondering that he might not be able to come and go often as he needed to._

"_You are a paying client as much as anyone else is and besides, everyone here minds their own business and as should be obvious, recording devices are expressly forbidden here. Cellular phones and similar devices do not function either as this is a shielded location. With a regular membership, you pay a nominal fee of one hundred thousand per month, with all food and beverages complementary of course. A private room with a girl will cost twenty thousand a night, doubling that for every extra girl you might want to entertain you. With a special deposit of two million per month, you are considered one of our VIP clients and can arrange to have one of my little pets here kept for you and only you on a permanent basis. If you do not pick one right away or are between choosing a personal pet, all services with the rest of the girls are free of charge while you determine who your next pet is going to be. If you have a personal pet, we halve the normal fee for adding additional girls to your enjoyment. You are further given your own private room that is yours and can be customized with whatever you need to enjoy yourself with the girls more thoroughly. Are you a mutant yourself? We pride ourselves on catering to our own kind and offering them a good choice of enjoying the fellow members of their species. We neither discriminate against our human clientele who are looking to enjoy a more exotic relationship that human girls just can't offer." King went on, explaining what he offered as Julian focused on keeping his powers charged up just enough to not give off any visual indications he was using them. He had discovered at the Institute that when he kept his TK powers on, it made it difficult to read his mind and he'd felt something probing at it since he arrived._

"_That's not your business, but I will take the VIP Package I think. My work has become very dull of late and I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time here until things pick up. You prefer wire transfer I imagine?" Julian said, quietly fuming that he had to deal with the man when he'd much rather crush his skull with his powers._

_"Just have all necessary funds sent to this account and call this number when you wish to be brought in, our teleporter is are ready at any hour, any time of day." King said, giving Julian two cards, one with the account number and the other with the special number. _

"_In the meantime, since you did already pay the entry fee, why don't you sample our wares before purchase, always good to examine things firsthand before a big investment I always say, Bliss! Why don't you take our future client here to a back room and show him our idea of hospitality?" King called to a blond wearing very bright red lingerie that did nothing but outline what it covered. Bliss seemed to smile at the idea. Before Julian could argue, she had taken his hand and set off a feeling like he'd just masturbated, guessing immediately she was what King called an Inducer._

_Bliss led him to a back room, stripped off his shirt and began setting off pleasurable feelings in every exposed nerve. She went on with this for some time, it never progressed any farther than that but it didn't have to. Julian had engaged in a few one-night stands since he left the Institute, and Sofia, behind, although he'd never gotten that far with her._

_However nothing compared to what he felt in that moment. After a bit of time for him to recover, she offered more but Julian politely turned her down, saying she had more than sold the virtues of his establishment, but also noting the disappointment on her face, seemingly disappointed that she hadn't been able to hook him for more. _

_He had paid King in full and visited the place regularly, making sure he would be observed as a usual client while he silently built the place in his head. He'd drawn a decent map of the place, or at least as good a map as he could manage since there were some places in the club no amount of money could buy into. He would sit in the lounge and pretend to inspect all the slaves walking around waiting to be taken by the degenerate rich men who frequented the establishment. He tried to work out who was a guard, and who was a prisoner. Some of the women had an authority about them and seemed to force the prisoners into line, while others were quick to obey any order given. He would have different Inducers give him a session with each visit without actual sex to maintain his cover, pretending he couldn't quite decide which of them he liked the most. He also spent time when he was pretending to evaluate each slave to find a girl who hadn't been completely broken so he could get inside information. There didn't seem to be one though, King seemed to have abducted all the mutants he could that filled the needs of his clients some time ago and broken them all down. Julian was sure King was always looking for new girls though so he kept coming while thinking of alternatives._

Julian fumed as he teleported in, he was bored at home and this was the only thing he had going that seemed to be worth fighting for, but there was no one to help him and he couldn't take the place down on his own. He was frustrated and still having nightmares at about what happened the last time he'd tried playing hero but didn't know how to do anything else. He kept coming to the Club back because he had to keep trying, at least until Cyclops or Emma Frost picked up the phone long enough to hear something besides please don't hang up. There was King, always there to greet VIP clients and make sure they didn't have any special requests such as two or more girls or wanted to change their personal slaves. He traded the usual lines back and forth with King, tired of playing out the same conversations while focusing his TK to block out King's mind-probing efforts, he never stopped trying. _You're not getting anything out of me tonight either, bastard. Fucking telepaths, good, evil they always want to know everything that's going on. _It was tiresome maintaining the concentration, but being telekinetic gave him the advantage of some telepathic resistance and that was required. He was sure if King really pushed he could break through, but King probably could tell he was intentionally being blocked and he didn't risk pushing further and angering his two million dollar a month client.

Still, he had a bit of optimism tonight and he hoped something would finally go his way on this private crusade of his. When he had called earlier, he had been told that if he could wait an hour and a half first to be picked up, King would have a brand new slave he wanted to present to him that no other Club client had ever seen. Julian said he would wait and personally hoped this new girl had not been completely broken down in the private areas of the Club by King beforehand.

His optimism was still there, but so was a rather large amount of desire for what he saw when King led to him where the new slave was waiting.

"Who's this?" Julian asked, instantly fascinated by what he saw.

He was used to the hunched, broken-down stance of the slaves and the straight-backed authoritative walk of the silent female guards like, mostly Inducers that worked in the club. Then he saw her, Her stance was different, guarded, but allowing herself to appear submissive, she was three or four inches shorter than him, with very dark hair, almost black pulled into a pony tail, coming out of the black leather hood that hid her face except for her mouth, where her lips were in similar shade of black to the rest of her costume. The girl had been fitted with black leather cuffs connected by chains and a black collar and a leash that hung loosely from it. He kept talking, but found himself distracted by the fetish costume she wore. A black leather bustier that was strung together in front and gave a very nice view of her cleavage, with a black thong and black stockings completing the ensemble. Julian had a hard time focusing off of her and not appearing to be slack-jawed at her body but it wasn't easy, she had a firm, toned body that was very nice to look at. All the slaves did but there was something different here, something about the hidden resistance he could see in her stance.

Julian couldn't be sure he was right of course, he might just be really, really horny and his underlying hormones were looking for an excuse to justify the four million dollars he'd already spent there. He barely noticed the Exotic, a girl with large white wings like Archangel who was holding the leash connected to her collar.

"A new acquisition, just arrived recently and we've been training her very hard to have her ready for you. I'm pleased to say she is so far unspoiled in this club. Before that I cannot be certain, we test the girls regularly of course but her mutant power makes it irrelevant. This is Doll, we brought her in to cater to our S&M clients, but I'm sure we can give her over to you for the evening." King introduced the new girl as if she were no there.

Julian instantly became disgusted at the idea of this girl, who was at best his own age being used by a bunch of perveted freaks for S&M rituals. _Really going to enjoy having a quiet word with you when I figure out how to bust this shithole up._

"What mutant power is that?" Julian asked, trying to conceal his anger as best he could.

"She's a very powerful self-healer, if you were to try a little experimentation with S&M or similar activities she'd never show a scar or a bruise the next day. She'll stay perfectly beautiful for you no matter what." Master confidently offered, seeing to try and sell his client on the concept of engaging in darker activities that he'd never given a second of thought about doing.

"Seems a shame to bruise this nice little body of hers at all, but the mask, seriously? You wouldn't be trying to pass a horseface around would you?" Julian said as he tried to play aloof again and made sure his buzzing TK was keeping his thoughts his own.

"Sir, if when you her to your private suite and are not pleased by what you see when you take off the mask, I assure you, your fees for next month will be discounted by twenty percent." King countered as Julian thought about what she looked like under the mask, or how terrified she must be at thought of being a permanent sex slave in the hellhole she was in.

King then motioned to the winged girl to give him the leash, she obediently did so and kneeled immediately, he patted her head like on the head like she was a dog hungry for approval.

"Thank you Seraphim, now go finish preparing yourself, your first appointent is in twenty minutes and our client has been waiting for you to have an opening in your schedule all week," King compimented he angel-winged girl who nodded, stood up and walked off to finish whatever preparations she had to before starting her work for the evening.

King then handed it over to Julian, who nodded with the offer and took it, uncomfortable he had to lead the poor girl around on the dehumanizing thing. Julian still had to fake his confident demeanor, a rich degenerate who was looking forward to using the girl as his sex slave.

"Bold statement, but you haven't disappointed me yet. I gather my room's already prepared with the usual refreshments?" Julian said and took up the leash hanging from her neck and reluctantly gave it a pull and the girl sensing the movement began to walk in the direction she was pulled..

"Of course sir, additionally, will you need anything to enjoy her specialty? You never did ask for your room to be stocked with more than the basic equipment. However I'm sure I could have some special tools sent up for the evening." King called after as Julian had his back to him and was glad to be able to have a face of complete outrage at the offering.

"I think I'll just enjoy her as she is, her body's much more interesting than her powers are to me. I do not want to be disturbed, understood?" Julian called back as he kept leading her towards his private room.

"Perfectly, enjoy her sir, you're in for a treat." King replied as Julian thought of a few things he could do to King with his TK when he got the chance.

Julian reluctantly pulled the poor girl along for a couple of minutes, they couldn't exactly move fast with her in chains, but he reached his private room and took her inside. The door opened with a key card like a hotel and each VIP had their own private room just for them. He led her until she was just in front of the bed, then reached inside his pocket and produced his SHIELD-issue scrambler. It had cost him fifty thousand dollars but it did scramble any known form of surveillance. He was quite sure King recorded all his clients for one reason or another, probably mostly involving blackmail for the more prominent clients or the simple fact that he was a sick freak.

"Stay there for now." Julian said as he released the leash and backed away and activated the scrambler, noting the indications saying the battery charge was good and the scrambling field was active.

"That sick fuck thinks I'll get sloppy one of these days and forget to check this room for cameras so he can blackmail me. That's the sad part of this whole thing, he gets great money for selling you, but he gets crazy money when he blackmails the guys who use you when he catches it on tape." Julian sighed as he turned on the sweeper, scrambling them and preventing what was happening from being recorded. Julian then realized that she was still masked and couldn't see him and she was new, and most likely terrified.

"Relax, this is probably going to be the best part of the day, as sad as that probably sounds to you." Julian said, then berated himself mentally for how utterly stupid he sounded to a girl who had just been enslaved. _One step a time, genius _Julian reminded himself, he went over to Laura and saw her tense on his approach, then began removing her restraints, quickly removing them. Then there was the mask.

"Now, let's have this mask off." Julian said as he found the zipper at the back and pulled it, pulling it off, the cord keeping her ponytail up went with it and her hair fell down covering her face.

"Wow." Julian said, unintentionally, but the word escaped him, as she brushed the hair away from her face, he saw it and it was beautiful, then he saw the fire in her eyes. It wasn't like the guards, not like the slaves, it was rebellious fire and hatred for him.

"They really haven't broken you yet have they? Don't worry I trashed the surveillance, they won't hear that. I can see it in your eyes, all the other girls here, they're either glazed over when I meet their eyes or they're one of the freaks who like this place and like tormenting the girls like you. That's good, I've been waiting for you." Julian said as he met her gaze, but found it hard to keep focused on just her face. He was greeted with silence. He looked down for a moment and examined her cleavage reaching out from the tight latex corset, it was hard to look away.

"You can talk can't you? Or did they decide that using mutes was better for business?" Julian asked, hoping he could communicate with her or this was just a waste and probably time for him to try banging on the X-men's door once more.

Julian had thought about asking his parents, but they'd be more likely scandalized that he was hanging this place than wanting to do anything about it. Also, knowing his father and the likely people he did business with, there was half a chance he did business with some of the clientele.

"What does it matter? Just get it over with." The girl finally said, practically choking it out, she'd either been gagged or been forbidden from talking since she had been abducted.

"Relax, I'm not going to touch you again unless you let me. I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to help you. My name's Julian Keller and I've been waiting for someone like you since I heard about this place." Julian tried an introduction and to assuage her fears, hoping he was finally getting a break in what he was doing.


	3. First Meetings

Disclaimer: Writer not affiliated with Marvel in any way, shape or form, characters and original settings all belong to Marvel Comics. Just wanted to finally give these two a chance, been rooting for them since they met in New X-Men. Now let's all write Craig Kyle and Chris Yost and tell them to give these two a break in the comics, I think we can all agree they both deserve it!

Timeline Notes: M-Day has not happened in this timeline, nor did Laura/X-23 take part in joining the characters of NYX, but her personal timeline before NYX is intact. Claremont's X-Men run and by extension and the events in New X-Men have not involved Laura Kinney at all. Similarly, events that became possible by M-Day such as Civil War, Messiah Complex and Secret Invasion will not have occurred. (Mass mutant rebellion against Registration would have fielded advantage to the Anti-Registration side after all). Julian Keller has left the Xavier Institute approximately one year before the story takes place, but the Hellions Mini and his activity in New Mutants Volume 2 and New X-Men: Academy X have all taken place.

Character Notes: Estimating Julian to be 17 years old at the time of this and Laura to be about 16 years old given Comic timelines move in strange and mysterious ways and characters are suddenly younger and older for no reason. Maintaining Laura's tendency of not using contractions and slang when she talks as seen in New X-Men and X-Force. Also taking my best guess on Laura's personality in this time line and how it would evolve over time.

Note for "M" Label: Contains strong language, strong sexual themes with some graphic description in certain chapters with intermittent violence and some scenes of torture. Not for younger readers of course, but it's the internet and I doubt anyone's taking maturity labels seriously… Not all chapters will contain everything above, so relax, not a wall-to-wall smutfest.

Chapter Three: First Meeting

Laura looked her apparent rescuer over and evaluated him. He was between fifteen and nineteen years old, dressed in a black leather jacket with red stripes, black t-shirt and black jeans. Five foot eleven, between 160 and 180 pounds and a semi-confident poise, like someone who knew he had power. Short, spiky dark hair, he had a strong jaw line and blue eyes, but there seemed to be green around the edges but in a vibrant colour, but then the green vanished. He was physically attractive for a male his age but that wasn't going to make her feel any better if he raped her like she suspected he was going to do. This was likely another test by King, dangling freedom, then crushing that hope, after all, she doubted King thought she was broken any more than she thought she was. Laura almost felt like laughing at her predicament, even though she realized how stupid that would look, her in fetish clothing and restraints and at the mercy of a man who could rape her without her being able to fight back at all.

Laura took a moment to examine where she had been brought, The Club obviously was charging vast sums of money to each client to allow such opulence. The bed in the centre of the room was massive and circular, easily large enough to fit up to five people if the client were rich and perverted enough to engage in such a display. Several hooks hung from the ceiling to over the bed, somewhere for her leash or other shackles to be hung from no doubt if her client wished to tie her off like an animal. A leather chair was set in front of the bed, for the paying client she imagined if he wished to stop for a while and observe what he had arranged for himself Another leather chair was set in front of a stripper pole to the right side of the large suite, so if a client wanted to sit back and enjoy a show he could. One large wardrobe was set against the wall near the bathroom to the back of the room, it was open and from where she stood, could tell it was filled with various sex toys and other paraphernalia for sex. Laura didn't want to know what some of the stranger-looking items were meant for. The bathroom door was open, from which she could see a full Jacuzzi tub. Then on the left side of the room were two cages, one tall so she would at least be able to stand up in it and the other so she could be put inside it like a dog. Then there was there was the wall where the door to the suite had been, there were more dangling hooks for her to be hung from restraints or other devices and the wall to either side of the door had tall, long mirrors that covered the whole wall. The scheme seemed to be so that a client could probably himself as he used one or more of the slaves.

"You don't believe me do you? No, can't say I blame you for that. Figure this is just part of the breaking-down process right? I'm offering you freedom than the big man out there takes it away?" Julian tried talking some more, hoping to get some reaction. He sat on the opulent bed in the private suite and looked at her, trying to keep his eyes above her neck level. It wasn't easy though, He'd been to this club many times and seen a lot, but this girl had him trying to fight the arousal in his pants rather hard. _Think about Rockslide's butt, think about Rockslide's butt… _Julian thought to himself to try and not appear a pervert before the poor girl in front of him.

"Either have me or leave me alone." Laura said and turned around, keeping her back to him and waiting for the inevitable.

"Fine, I'll leave you alone. You do whatever you like, sleep, eat, there's plenty of food there, I'm going to listen to my iPod." Julian offered as he went over to the chair facing the bed, pulled out his iPod, plugged in his earphones and didn't look at her again.

Laura was confused, she'd never really had anyone try to help her in her life besides her mother and that had not ended well. This could be a trap, but if it wasn't, at least it would give her a brief respite from what was going to be a very long and torturous time while she tried to work out her own escape. She found herself famished and looked towards the food cart, all sorts of foods and drinks were laid out. In a blaze of hunger, she went through near half the cart before stopping and realizing she was not alone as she wiped food from her mouth.

"Don't worry about it, pretend I'm not even here." Laura turned and looked to see if he had been watching, he wasn't, but she imagined he had looked a time or two while she had been eating. She stopped eating anyway, her hunger satisfied but decided against sleeping, she couldn't drop her guard that completely and quietly went to the other end of the room, as far from Julian as she could and sat quietly, waiting for it to come.

"I already told you, nothing's going to happen tonight and no one will know, I don't exactly fill out a customer satisfaction card when I leave. I'll just flush two or three condoms down the toilet before I go and you can say we did whatever and you enjoyed it. You want to get out of here, you can start by telling me what you know about this place and we can go from there." Julian said as he pulled his earplugs out and looked over at Laura, then scowled and got up.

"Sorry, I should have done this sooner, you shouldn't have to sit around dressed like that all night." Julian said removing his coat and offering it to her, Laura debated about taking anything from him, then decided she might was well cover herself up a bit. She pulled the coat on and kept a watchful eye on him.

"You want to play the silent treatment, that's fine. All I ask is that you try and sleep, your skin's pale and you have bags around your eyes. They've obviously been working you over just to get you ready for tonight. Sleep, I'll be over here and leave you be." Julian said as he went over to his chair, worked to get comfortable and Laura watched him fall asleep.

Laura decided to take the opportunity, either he was lying and waiting to take her unawares or was genuinely trying to help her, but his falling asleep was an odd move and she was sure he was asleep when she got onto the bed and drifted off.

Julian awoke later and noticed her asleep, deciding that getting close to her might startle her, he silently lifted the sheet on the bed with his telekinesis and covered her, then went back to planning his next move. He felt good about this and this was his last chance to really get something done short of a suicidal attempt to bring this place down by himself. He'd tell King to make her his slave, it would be the best way to get a trust between them and keep her from being broken down by being ravaged by the beasts that came to the Club for what it offered.

_Can't believe this sick bastard, poor girl doesn't know where she is, what day it is or anything like that, all she knew is I was probably going to ravage her like a some sick, limp-dicked freak._ Julian thought as he studied her, Doll, King had called her, he'd have to try and get her to give him her real name. He then noticed the time _shit _he'd slept longer than he should, his parents wanted to meet him for breakfast and he had less than thirty minutes to meet them. Likely they wanted to pass another job onto him, which was all they ever really talked about, except getting small five-minute updates about his brother who didn't want to see his mutant brother. He also had to look disheveled when he left the room, he quickly got into a quick row of sit-ups and push-ups to work up a sweat as fast as he could.

He thought about shaking her awake but decided to respect the promise about touching her and instead tried to just talking her awake.

"You need to wake up, I have to go, and they'll be in here with you soon." Julian whispered, and then tried louder. Laura awoke on the third try and bolted up alert, checked herself, then noticed she was still untouched and Julian was standing well away from her. His hair was messed up and he appeared to be sweating, although she was wearing all her clothes and had not appeared to have been violated, it was possible he had masturbated while using her as stimulation.

"Sorry, I have something I have to do but I'm going to try and keep them from making you do anything with anyone else. I hate to be an ass but if this is going to work, I'll need to ask for my jacket back and I need you to lose your clothes, or most of them anyway." Julian said and winced as he caught the look of disgust on her face.

"I'm not looking to have you do a striptease for me, that's just sick. I know you've got all the right in the world to hate me, but I am trying to help you. If it is going to work trough, we need to sell this, they come in and you're not naked and the bed's not all tossed, they're going to wonder why I want you all for myself. Look, I know think you I'm just a pervert who wants to force himself on you, but I am trying to do the right thing here. I know King puts psychic commands in your head to stop you from hurting clients without permission so I'm telling you right now, Kick me in the balls. If anything I might be too sore to try to force myself on you and you get a bit of satisfaction from it." Julian tried one last time, he would hurt quite badly if she did it, but he had to take the risk.

Laura thought about, then decided at this point, she had nothing to lose. She kicked him right in the junk with enough force to make sure he would not be considering intercourse with her in the next several hours. Laura knew a killing strike and probably near-killing strikes would not work with the psychic commands imbedded in her subconscious but at the very least, this could buy her some relief from having him force himself upon her. He went down on the ground moaning a bit, both hands covering his manhood from future assaults.

"Believe me now?" Julian croaked out as the slave girl seemed to keep watching him suspiciously, She was not nearly like any of the girls who were kept captive, there was something about on a very basic level that was different. The way she looked at him, studied him, seemed to very carefully consider everything he said for truth or possible deception.

"See, nothing. No reprisal whatsoever. Now like I said, I think I can give you a bit of help here by telling them I want you as my personal slave. None of the other sickos here will get their hands on you and we will never, EVER do anything together, I'll never even lay a finger on you unless you let me. Now will you please agree and help me sell this?"

While this was a risk, Laura had always been taught taking no risks meant no success. She stripped, Julian turned around as she did so to give her privacy, then he went about tearing the bed up a bit, throwing pillows and sheets.

"It would really help if you worked up a sweat doing something, I did some push-ups and sit-ups while you were asleep so I looked like I'd been having a wild night. I'll go in the bathroom until you're done and shut the door, promise." Julian continued to try and make his case with her. his back still towards her as Laura considered his request and again, a minimal risk with possible reward, it was acceptable.

"Go ahead, I will tell you when I am done." Laura said finally, deciding she would play along for now.

Julian nodded his head, walked to the bathroom, his neck twisted a couple times like he wanted to look at her naked but stopped, he seemed to be restraining himself from doing so from Laura's perspective.

Julian forced himself not to look as he walked straight into the bathroom and closed the door behind him without looking, he would need to get home and shower then meet his parents. Fortunately, a fast telekinetic flight could have him from the apartment to his parent's estate in less than five minutes.

Laura did as he suggested and worked very fast, sit-ups and push-ups as she started to feel sweat build up on her body until she was convinced she was sufficiently soiled enough to pass muster if he was indeed telling the truth and they would merely be pretending to have coupled.

"I am done." Laura said, Julian backed out of the bathroom backwards, still respectful of her nudity, she found this a small measure of comfort. He turned his head slightly and saw the discarded restraints, but made sure he kept his field of vision away from her.

"You will need to stimulate yourself to leave some seminal fluid behind on the sheets or I will have to stimulate myself into a release if we are to as you say, 'sell this. No period of physical coupling that long would occur without leaving some discharge." Laura said as Julian shook his head.

"Don't have to, if you look into the left inner pocket on my jacket you're going to find a bottle of the world's greatest invention for practical jokes. Fake semen, feels just like the real stuff and looks like it under a black light. They're not going to test every guy's fluid in here when they find it on the sheets. Just spread some around I guess as you like, then please seal the bottle tightly and put it back." Julian replied, he'd carried the small bottle with him just in case he had to somehow fake a sexual encounter at The Club.

"I'm about to sound like a giant dick once more but I need to ask you to help me out a bit more with this. I need to ask you put the collar back on. I'm selling this whole thing that I found you so hot the minute I had your clothes off and had you the first time I had to make you my personal slave. Thing is I know you're a new slave and so does King so he's going to find it weird you were so obedient on your first night and might start probing your mind to find out what really happened. If you put the collar on, I can say you were a bit stubborn at first but once I started using your collar to 'teach' you and shoved you in one of the cages for a while you started to get the picture. I don't want you to have to do this but we need to sell it if we want to get this past the first night without getting caught." Julian said as he floated the collar up, the leash rustling as it did so and floated it over to more or less where the bed was and let it go.

"I'm trusting you by showing you my power, I'm a mutant too. It really does make me sick thinking about how you and the other girls have been taken off and enslaved like this. I'm going to go see King right now and tell him I want you for myself, I've got money to spend here to make that happen and keep it like that for a long time. No one else will get to touch you and I'm not going to either. I'm just going to help you get out of here." Julian said as he kept his back to Laura, carefully walking around in a half-circle so he could avoid her where she was by the bed and not look at her naked while he went for the door.

Laura took his jacket where it had been lying on the floor after he took it off and threw it to him so it landed over his head. Probing again, would he react?

"Thanks, almost forget this. Just lay on the bed and they'll come and get you soon I imagine. You should do your best to act like you're worn out or you're pleased with what we did, whatever you think will convince them we went at it all night." Julian thanked her despite how he had it delivered and suggested how she should make it look.

Laura considered what had just happened, if this was a plot by King to test her obedience, it certainly was a peculiar one. If it was just the boy's way of playing a sick joke, looking to build up her hopes and then just want to crush her hopes and forcibly violate her, it was again a strange one. Julian Keller as he called himself, had behaved as well as he could under the circumstances if he was her rescuer and did take every effort to avoid seeing her naked form and trying to be sincere. She ranked the second possibility as the most likely, seeing as how The Club probably attracted a high number of clients with deviant sexual behaviour, the third possibility second and King's trap theory last, it just did not seem his style of control. There was his psychic powers, the man called Switch who controlled her powers, his guards, and the elite slaves/guards like Bliss and the slaves like Angel Dust who were probable informers on other slave's activities. It was a highly unlikely scenario he would use a random element like an adolescent boy to test her obedience, he had his established control methods that he seemed comfortable with. If the scenario played out as the boy had explained, then she would probably see him very soon and would be able to discount at least one of the three possibilities presented his offer.

Laura considered these options quickly, committed them to memory and the tried to empty her thoughts, she imagined King would soon be coming in to check on her first night. It seemed his style to personally inspect how a new slave was performing and how she felt about being used. She covered herself with a sheet for comfort and rested her head on a pillow, she would at least be comfortable for a few minutes.

* * *

Julian had walked out of the room and towards the teleporter's 'departure room' but told the first guard he saw that he was looking for King and wanted to talk to him about Doll. King was waiting for him when he got to where he had to leave.

"So, everything was satisfactory?" King asked, Julian thought again about giving him everything he had with his telekinetic power in one shot but restrained himself.

"Very much, in fact, Doll is what I've been looking for since I came in here. You were right about that mask though, I nearly came early by the time I had her clothes off. She has the best body I have seen in my life, her face, her tits, ass, everything. I can tell she's also new, she's still got a bit of fire in her eyes and wasn't that obedient to get started with her. Still, she started to get the idea when I put her in the small cage with her mask on and told her she'd have to give me a blow job before I'd let her out and take it off. Kept her collar on to make sure she knew her place the whole time, but lost the rest of the restraints when I needed her to be a bit more flexible. I think I'd like to have her as my own." Julian bragged openly about how his night had gone, he'd actually rehearsed some of it in his head to sell how much he wanted her when he figured he'd have to make the girl 'his' to help protect her.

"Really? I had no idea she could make such an impression in one visit." King asked, looking curious as to what just had happened to make Julian want to make her his personal slave. Julian pictured tossing the man to a feeding frenzy of sharks.

"Look, I won't lie and say your Inducers aren't helping me with the stress I have in my life but really, if I had them work me over in the dark I'd barely know which one of them was which. Doll though, she's just got that incredible body working for her and I think she actually likes my body too, I could see she was a bit turned on when I took my clothes off. She's not too docile yet but I think I'll enjoy teaching her to do things just the way I like them. The way that body feels when I give it to her… damn, I didn't think fucking could feel that good. You said a VIP can pick a girl to have as his and his alone, I'd like Doll to be mine to play with." Julian went on, selling his desire for the girl, trying to con the man while not giving up his intentions. He was almost glad he was so used to being such a cocky jerk so he could pull it off as he told King of his intentions.

"A pity for some, I mentioned this one to a couple of our clients and they were practically salivating at the thought of having a little toy like her for their sessions. Well maybe when you get bored of the usual tricks with this one you can enjoy her more unusual characteristics." King mused, then he winked at Julian. Julian kept his TK buzzing to keep his thoughts to himself and restrained himself from killing King for the five hundredth time.

"Don't think that's happening, the thought of ruining that perfect skin of hers at all? Seems a crime to do it. I'll just have her the way I like her, teach her how I want her to behave and that will suit me just fine. I'm very certain of this, I'd like that little Doll to be mine and no one else's to play with." Julian said dismissively at the thought of using her for some kind of twisted S&M ritual, then kept bragging about he was going to make the girl his perfect personal slave.

We'll keep her prepared for your return, I find it interesting how you managed to control her so well, and I thought you'd have to keep her tied up all night to have any real fun with her." King went on, trying to pry, Julian noted the suspicion in his voice.

"Sometimes it's all about the first introduction, you teach them how easy life can be if they do as they're told. It doesn't hurt if they also find themselves turned on when they look at you, I put her into an orgasm so fast I doubt she realized I had even taken my pants off. It was real too, girls just don't make a face like that unless it's the real thing. The collar kept her reminded that I was in charge, but I think she liked it that I was controlling everything." Julian explained in his cocky tone, using just about every line he'd picked up out of a Penthouse magazine to keep the whole thing again.

"Then it seems you and your Doll are well matched for each other. We'll have her ready for whenever you are sir and we'll even have prepared specially you when you return. It's a courtesy we extend to our clients but the first-time preparation of a personal pet can take some so it would be appreciable if you were to give us some notice before your next visit. If you do give us several hours notice, we'll have her prepared especially for your enjoyment when you come to take full ownership of your new Doll." King oozed out in the tone that made Julian feel rather uncomfortable for having now asked for the girl to be his.

King turned around and walked off towards the VIP rooms, doubtless to check the girl out personally. Julian fantasized about telepathically expanding the man's lungs outwards so they exploded inside his chest.

Julian was annoyed he couldn't raise a protest about the fact that the girl would be 'prepared' for him in some special manner, but he had to let it go. It would be odd for him to say he didn't want her prepared for him in as his personal slave. Julian shuddered at the thought of leaving the girl here, or what 'special preparation' meant, he doubted it was going to be that pleasant for her. The only small consolation was that no other man would be allowed to touch her. Julian kept walking to the departure room, told the teleporter where he needed to be and in the blink of an eye, he was a block from his apartment and now thirty minutes from meeting his parents for breakfast. First things first, a very cold shower to keep that girl off his mind while he found out about what his parents wanted to have sabotaged this time. After that, pick a time to scout what he had to do and then another time to actually sabotage it if would be a bit too obvious for him to do it in plain sight.

He would have to delay the sabotage so he could to get back to The Club before King decided that the girl needed 'help' to make sure she obeyed him. He might have won an ounce of trust with her last night and he couldn't risk throwing that away. No, he needed to keep her safe as much as possible, as often as possible so he could help her out of her situation, her and all the others. If he helped her, she would help him and with her help, he might just bring that place crashing down and regain something he'd lost a year before. Then maybe, just maybe Julian Keller would be remembered for more than being responsible for one of the worst days in the history of the Xavier Institute.

* * *

"Well well well, not a bad start for you at all little Doll." Laura heard and turned around on the bed, seeing King standing above her and leering at her sweaty, naked body.

"First job and you worked that boy over so well he's already taken you as his own, you must have shown him quite the time last night. A pity there aren't any more of you, and I think I could have sold you as twins to him if I charged him a double rate." King said as he grabbed her leash and pulled her off the bed, Laura obediently stood in front of him, head low to indicate submission to him.

"Still, rather interesting he seemed to manage to get you to be so obedient, not to mention that he seems to think you're hot for his body. You wouldn't be planning to use him for some ill-advised escape attempt would you?" King asked as he yanked on her chain playfully.

"He has an attractive body and I can not change where I am so I might as well accept it." Laura replied, then felt an intense migraine in her head, like a bomb had gone off.

"That's 'my King' Doll when you address me and while your mind isn't easy to read, I've had enough time to work my way inside it and see those nasty disobedient thoughts of yours. I made my own little door to get in there to make sure you're not being a disobedient little slave who doesn't understand her place. Don't think you'll be able to please him so much he'll want to buy you wholesale and take you out of here, The Club owns you for life or when no one wants to have you anymore, whichever comes first. You're very lucky to be made a private pet right now, he's a handsome boy so you shouldn't have too much trouble being his toy but it won't last forever. All the VIPs get tired of their personal pets or run out of money to afford the service. After that you had been better make sure you're just as eager to please your next client and the next hundred clients after that." King threatened Laura as he forcibly yanked on her leash while sending another telepathic bomb into her head as punishment for her lack of respect. While she recovered, King loomed over her and began to talk more softly.

"Don't worry about that now though, for now you get live in a very pampered existence that only a few of my pets get to enjoy. You'll be made special for your owner every time he wants you and you don't need to worry about being touched by any man but him. Even I respect the rule about no one touching a personal slave, I personally killed one of my men when he tried to force himself on one a year ago. Now, tell me, are you looking forward to your owner's next visit?". King said in a charming voice that had her very nervous at first, but she was not exactly in a position to respond to anything.

"Yes my King, that sounds wonderful." Laura said keeping her voice in a low, submissive tone.

"Very good Doll, I don't think that was quite sincere but I'm sure we'll have you begging your master with tears in your eyes not to leave you alone soon enough. In the meantime, I'll have Angel Dust come and take you back to your room. Stay here, kneeling at the door with your head down until she comes for you, Angel Dust will know you should be doing this. Disobey and I'll make sure Pain gives you private lessons and Bliss won't touch for a week." King said as he let go of her chain and left the room.

Laura obediently took her subservient position before the door and waited to hear King walk far away. She knew he had a likely range on his telepathy and a limit to how much he could monitor, but it seemed unwise to test it at such an early stage, he might wait for her to think something after she was gone and the punish with another psychic bomb. Better to play the submissive slave until she had a better opportunity to work on potential escape plans.


	4. Bought

Disclaimer: Writer not affiliated with Marvel in any way, shape or form, characters and original settings all belong to Marvel Comics. Just wanted to finally give these two a chance, been rooting for them since they met in New X-Men. Now let's all write Craig Kyle and Chris Yost and tell them to give these two a break in the comics, I think we can all agree they both deserve it!

Timeline Notes: M-Day has not happened in this timeline, nor did Laura/X-23 take part in joining the characters of NYX, but her personal timeline before NYX is intact. Claremont's X-Men run and by extension and the events in New X-Men have not involved Laura Kinney at all. Similarly, events that became possible by M-Day such as Civil War, Messiah Complex and Secret Invasion will not have occurred. (Mass mutant rebellion against Registration would have fielded advantage to the Anti-Registration side after all). Julian Keller has left the Xavier Institute approximately one year before the story takes place, but the Hellions Mini and his activity in New Mutants Volume 2 and New X-Men: Academy X have all taken place.

Character Notes: Estimating Julian to be 17 years old at the time of this and Laura to be about 16 years old given Comic timelines move in strange and mysterious ways and characters are suddenly younger and older for no reason. Maintaining Laura's tendency of not using contractions and slang when she talks as seen in New X-Men and X-Force. Also taking my best guess on Laura's personality in this time line and how it would evolve over time.

Note for "M" Label: Contains strong language, strong sexual themes with some graphic description in certain chapters with intermittent violence and some scenes of torture. Not for younger readers of course, but it's the internet and I doubt anyone's taking maturity labels seriously… Not all chapters will contain everything above, so relax, not a wall-to-wall smutfest.

Chapter Four: Bought

Laura had first kept her mind clear of any rebellious thoughts as King left, then assumed the subservient position she had been instructed to take and waited. Laura was quite sure King had moved off far enough to try a few small experimental thoughts of escape and when she felt confident enough, began plotting contingencies.

Then it was very hard to think, she felt very aroused and did not know why until she felt the tug on her collar as her leashed was picked up. Angel Dust had come to take her back to her cell and her pheromone influence was back to interfering with her ability to think coherently, she also found herself strangely attracted to Angel Dust. Laura also had a very calm feeling, but the sexual attraction was continuous and confusing. Laura had never observed other woman as being attractive in the sense that it aroused her but now it was. It was quite strange, she suspected it was Angel Dust's pheromones manipulating her, but they were much more potent than what had been used on her the day before.

"Please do not to act on what you're feeling. I was serving a client along with Seraphim but she felt a bit awkward, so I helped her by using my pheromones to get her in the mood. King strictly enforces the hands-off policy for personal slaves and any forbidden intimate contact is severely punished for anyone involved." Angel Dust said as she led Laura through The Club, making several changes of direction before finally reaching the slave quarter area. Laura had mentally mapped the journey, twenty metres than left, fifteen meters then right, sixty meters than left.

"I will bathe as to remove my excess pheromones from my skin and keep you from feeling the need to be with me. I have been ordered by King to help keep you calm and obedient so I will have to use them, he doesn't like it when we're anxious or aggressive. I suggest you take the time to sleep if your owner kept you up all night, you will need it if you are to keep him pleased with you. This bed is yours." Angel Dust said as she led Laura inside to the cell she shared with Angel Dust and let go of her leash, pointing to a small bed with a small blanket for comfort..

"Please do not try to move around outside either, I have been ordered to keep the door locked while you are alone and if you are caught outside without me as your keeper we will both be punished. I have been told you have also been scheduled for a new training session today so it would probably be best if you rested and prepared for it." Angel Dust said as she shut the door and Laura heard it lock from the outside.

_He is a definitely a sexual deviant and sociopath, but he does not know how to maintain a hold on these girls. One can not attempt escape without feeling guilty or being punished and feeling guilt for another slave being pushed as well. The girl who tried to escape will feel alone and hated by the one she got into trouble by her action, classic trap behaviour for brainwashing. _Laura started to build a more complete psychological profile for her primary captor, he was using his various levels of security to trap the girls inside a maze that only led one way, a broken will.

Laura lay on the bed she was told to take and waited for what came next, mentally calculating plans, but no promising scenarios could be worked out even if she included the boy as a potential outside factor. Switch, the one who took powers would probably easily eliminate him before he could effect a possible rescue. The boy might perhaps have allies if he was a mutant, Laura knew of the X-Men and Wolverine, who had once tried to help her when she had first tried to confront him and kill him. The problem with that was that she could not tell the boy if he was an associate of the X-Men to contact Wolverine for any reason.

Knowledge of her existence was dangerous and his passing a message to Wolverine would not work out, Wolverine's psychological profile indicated far too much history of unplanned and brash actions. He would likely carve his way through the entire criminal underworld to find this place but never find it and if he did, one mutant, even Wolverine against King's power base would not end well. It could also reveal her true identity to others if Wolverine involved the X-Men to assist him, her identity would have to remain secret for the time being, she should not tell her rescuer or ask her one possible ally in the world for help. Wolverine was too unreliable and might even be involved in some work halfway around the world, his Facility profile indicated an inability to ever remain one place for long. If the boy was telling the truth, she would have to keep her past secret from him and pretend to be a trapped mutant like the rest and not reveal her past at all. If asked about her ability to gather intelligence liked a trained assassin or spy, she would have to tell him it was irrelevant under the circumstances and they needed to focus on the task at hand.

It was possible Julian Keller was an infiltrator come on behalf of the X-Men as well if his rescue effort was his true intention. He could have infiltrated as a plant to gather intelligence, but she graded that at a possibility that did not rate above two percent for why he was trying to rescue her. His being simply a cocky, rich adolescent trying to play hero was around twenty percent in her mind. Sexual deviant looking to break her will by gaining her trust and then ravaging her body as he liked was at fifty-five percent and in a place like The Club, most likely. Master playing another game with her was at nine percent, with the remainder of low probable indications each barely ranking a percentage point.

Angel Dust came back and went to sleep in her bed, but still giving off a level of pheromones that made it harder to concentrate and focus on potential escape plans and evaluating her enemies.

Laura wasn't able to keep track of time as much as she liked, but she was certain it was two or three hours later that she was yanked awake by her collar and saw Bliss smiling a twisted little grin and holding her collar. Bliss had come to take her to a new conditioning session. Bliss yanked her out of bed and led her firmly by her leash to the conditioning room she had been brought to before. Forty-_seven steps, they are kept close to the slave quarters to make sure discipline or rewards are given out quickly if necessary. _Laura thought, Pain was standing in the room as well.

"Bad news Doll, King did like what you did for your new owner last night but didn't like that you had some nasty thoughts when he told you what a good little pet you were. So he asked Pain to give you just as much attention as I do. You're going to need lots of training if you're going to become a good Doll and make your master happy since he chose you to be his private pet." Bliss whispered to Laura as she was taken and securely strapped down on to the table meant for immobilizing slaves while they were conditioned.

Laura did not resist being restrained; it would gain her nothing except more torture. The only thing she could do was blot out the torture as best she could and use her next several 'appointments' with her new owner to see if he was being truthful about escape. Laura was not sure if the session lasted longer or shorter than other ones before this one did because the entire experience was hard to judge by measurement of time.

The process was always identical, Pain and Bliss alternated her conditioning with submission and rebellion being rewarded by the use of their Inducer abilities. The words associated with escape and rebellion were punished, while anything about submission was melded with Bliss's influence of pleasure. The real problem was it kept her mind and body confused as Laura tried to maintain a steady discipline against the treatment. It did not work well, while as X-23 she had received incalculable amounts of pain and how to block it out, it did not work well when Bliss would suddenly take over. The pleasure pulses confused her body and mind and disrupted her concentrated efforts to ignore the whole effort. Bliss continued to whisper to her the submissive words she was to respond to and added a new one, Doll, the name given to her by The Club. Laura knew while the Facility was far more professional than these amateurs when it came to conditioning a subject, the pleasure pulse conditioning was something foreign to fight against. While she was confident she could resist better than most, it was torture and everyone had a breaking point. They would just keep pushing her until they were sure she was broken.

The session ended at some point, Angel Dust arrived to bring her back to her cell, noticing that times had never been mentioned the whole day. Another conditioning maneuver, if they told you it was night and it was time to sleep, you did, if they said it was morning, it was morning and you got up. If it was time to eat, you did that.

Angel Dust led her back to her cell and told her she should sleep, since her client could call at any time to have prepared for him. Laura was told that she would have time to rest and time to eat before she saw him, so she should do both. Laura was given a bit of food to eat, again, low-nutrient food and laced with mild tranquilizers, again designed to maintain the constantly suppressive nature towards any slave having independent thought. Laura had to eat to survive though and needed the rest, it gained her nothing to be tired all the time and unable to focus her mind at all because of hunger. Laura still had to plan her escape, whether or not Julian Keller was actually going to help her. Laura did have an internal hope that the twenty-five percent chance he was being sincere would soon rise, escape from inside was not promising right now, with her best chance resting right then at six percent.

* * *

Breakfast ended with his parents the usual way, they said the absolute minimum and then his father would tell him to come see him in his office about some work to do, there they were when Julian was given his next job.

"A satellite launch? Isn't that going to be a bit messy? I thought you preferred it when I did things more quietly." Julian asked as he sat across from his father at his desk, who had handed him a file on his next job.

"This is a Roxon-Stark joint venture that we just learned about, I can't keep tracking of everything. I tell you what to destroy and you do it and you keep getting paid a lot more money than you'd ever see anywhere else.. This is a Roxon rocket carrying a Stark satellite that is going to give us uncomfortable competition for when we start our new satellite navigation system next year. I want this project sabotaged now before they even get one satellite up, then we can undercut Stark for Roxon to use their rockets to launch our system using our record of having perfect corporate security as the main pitch. This has to be a spectacular failure to get what I want, you want your money, I want a satellite destroyed, and that's how this works." William Keller told his son, who was studying the file and examining the details.

"Fine, whatever. Say hi to James for me, if he's not too busy burning crosses." Julian grumbled as he took the file with him and started leaving his father's study.

"It is comments like that make you unworthy of the family name and former inheritance. Your abilities make him uncomfortable and the way you tormented him when you got your powers did not help matters. You brought his hatred of mutants about by your own actions" William Keller responded curtly.

"Well you certainly don't mind giving out the family fortune to your unworthy son when it profits you. I don't care if he hates me because I was a jerk to him, what bothers me is that you're okay with basing his hatred for mutants on the fact that I happen to be one. Or the fact that you guys seem so ashamed to have me as your son you don't even bother having a picture of me anywhere in this house, I noticed. I know, mutants are a sensitive issue and Keller Enterprises is too important to be seen to have a future Magneto in the family. I'll call you when I've helped make you a billion dollars, again." Julian shot back and walked straight to the backyard and rocketed up to the cloud cover in a neon-green burst of light.

_Hmm, better than usual! _Julian thought to himself, usually his father had some complaint about how he'd done the last job or talked about well his brother was doing in school. _Hope the bastard does have the x-gene and mutates into something like Dr. McCoy or Nightcrawler, I'd like my parents try and spin that shit and explain how he's the new heir to the family business. They might even ask me to come back and be reinstated, nah, they don't admit mistakes, they'll just have another kid and pay some woman to be a surrogate for them._

Julian put it all out of his mind as he just went flying through the air, it was the best feeling he had. Freedom, total unchecked freedom to go anywhere he wanted and he could move when he wanted to. At first, he had trouble reaching even a few hundred miles an hour, now he was breaking the sound barrier as he got better control of his powers and used them more often. The only real concern was the odd SHIELD Helicarrier at that height he flew at, higher up and he would have trouble with planes. If he flew too low, he was too often spotted and then he'd see some asshole on the news ranting about a mutant menace flying over Los Angeles. He stayed where he was and enjoyed just about the only thing he had left in the world that he had not ruined. He thought briefly about the girl, which was odd because while it was important to him, he usually didn't think about anything but the rush he felt when he flew.

Still, she was the only girl he'd found so far who seemed to be at least halfway coherent, even if she was practically mute. Trust would come with time he told himself, maybe if he got her out of there he could show what freedom really was and would take her flying. That was a stupid idea and he slapped himself, even if he freed her, why would she want anything to do with him? He was an incompetent hero, now a criminal who did his parent's bidding in exchange for money that kept him out of their business. He just wanted to do one good thing to try and make up for what had happened last year. He rubbed over his heart where he'd had the tattoo done, K.F.B.C.S.Q.J.G. then an H under it, then under that February 11th, 2008. He saw it every morning when he looked in the mirror, to remind him of what happened when he didn't think.

He had to go see her again tonight, partly to keep up the charade that he was so ridiculously horny for her he had to have her again the next night. The main reason was still the same, he needed to get her to trust him, convince her he was really on her side, if it took a month or longer he had that long. The money he had made so far had him flush enough for ten months with no additional work from his parents and he'd soon have even more if he destroyed this rocket and the satellite.

Julian did feel guilt about using his powers in a way that was sabotaging the livelihood of other people and costing people their jobs, but not a lot of guilt. These were the people who said 'that's terrible' when a mutant was lynched for having bright orange skin or an extra set of eyes, but then there was the other side to those people. They voted for a raging asshole who promised to have all mutants in concentration camps by next year and give them a tax cut, they wanted their money and what had the mutants ever done for them? _How about saving your asses just about as many times as the fucking rock-star Avengers you love, most of those jerks went looking for power, Iron Man, Captain America, Giant-Man, Ant-Man and whoever else was basically a 'roid freak. I was born like this and I'm treated like I'm some kind of abomination by half this country and ignored by the other half. _

While he had told himself he should try to be a better person and that was why he was doing all of this, trying to shut down The Club, he couldn't shake his anger with humans. He did hate King and his associates about a hundred times more, they were treating their own kind even worse than how the anti-mutant bigots treated them. At least when it was a Purifier, either he killed you or you killed him, they didn't break you down until the only thing you could think about how was fuck a degenerate rich man fifty different ways.

Julian landed on the roof of his apartment building, he'd gotten the top floor with a skylight just so he could leave it open and rocket inside before anyone even realized what had happened. Nothing worse than telling the local Friends of Humanity and Purifier Chapters were to lob a firebomb. His phone was in his hand and he dialed the Club number, a number he'd paid a half-dozen different tech people trace to no avail.

He was almost tempted to send it to the Fantastic Four or the Avengers or something with a request to trace it somehow with a note of what the number referred to. The problem being, organizations like those had 'crank files' as his father had once explained to him. Major businesses, celebrities, sports franchises and groups like the Avengers were deluded with so much each day that a lot of it was simply never read. Almost all of the unread mail was filed off if a person started getting stalked or was murdered and they thought it was one of the 'cranks' who had wrote to them. He could always just ram into the Baxter Building full speed, but then The Thing would probably just punch him in the face and toss him to the cops and he'd never be able to explain, as the cops were in on The Club's scheme, bought off or didn't care. Even if they did agree to listen, they'd call the Institute to ask about him and check him out and then he'd really be screwed. Avengers, same issue, it was stereotypical but the first stage of contact between superhumans of all kinds was typically a fight, he actually had taken a class on that issue at the Institute.

There were the X-Men, but they didn't want to see him and that was certain, even his own classmates and friends wanted nothing to do with him he knew. He would needed to shove enough evidence in their face they couldn't possibly ignore him and the information that would allow them to infiltrate The Club. His being locked up while they tried to infiltrate someone else in would likely be hard to pull off and there was no guarantee this girl he had found would respond to who they sent. The girl had barely responded to him and a second offer to free her would likely just confuse or spook her into clamming up, and then that bastard King would finish breaking her will. He would need to do this himself, get her to trust him, have her give him an insider perspective so he could have the information that X-Men would believe and use to shut the place down.

Julian pulled out his phone and dialed and told them he'd like to have the girl ready for him in three hours, he would need new equipment from this point. There were people who could get him what he needed on short notice, but he'd need to take a portion of his on-hand cash, a large one for what he would need. He went to the bathroom for another cold shower, just thinking about her body did make him hard. He considered relieving some tension as well, but all he could think about was her and he would not disrespect her like that by using her image to get himself off. The poor girl had been forced into servitude and still probably thought he was going to rape her and control her until she bent to his every whim. He would be better than that, he had to be better than that if he was going to regain his lost honour.

* * *

Angel Dust told Laura that the time had come and her new owner had called to arrange to have her prepared for him so they had to get started right away. Laura nodded submissively, rose up still naked and wearing her collar and obediently followed as Angel Dust led her by her leash. Laura could reliably place the girl as a slave-informer, and Bliss and Pain as guards, their powers obviously gave them enough privilege that they were trusted to break down new slaves into submission. Laura could not be absolutely certain, she would need time to determine if between low probables, medium probables and high probables on her jailers and their informers.

Laura was freed of her collar so she could fully bathe with Angel Dust helping with the preparation. She did as she was told, noticing new girls in the bathhouse, including one red-haired woman in red dominatrix clothing that seemed to command great fear and respect. The guards bowed their heads to her, some of the slaves even got down and kissed her boots as she smiled and then gave them light touches and they moaned as she did so. _Inducer and definitely high-ranking, guards consider her above them, possible personal lover/assistant to King with such authority. _Her mental camera had now allowed her to catalogue twenty-two new slaves and added another Inducer, judging by her behaviour with one of the other girls as a potential guard as well. Laura had either been brought in when a different shift of slaves was scheduled to start or King mixed up his schedule of slaves to ensure his customers always a different variety of girls to choose from.

Angel Dust motioned for her to get out of the bath, so she did so as yesterday, letting the same ritual take place as before, following commands as she was told them,. There was no point in fighting something like this, it would just result in further torture and would just make Angel Dust, and a probable slave suffer as well for not being able to control her. Laura was submitting herself to a bit of the control by not wanting to involve Angel Dust in being punished, but she did not want to appear troublesome either, the more submissive she appeared, the easier it was to collect information. It was also not that much easy to build resistant feelings, Angel Dust had turned her pheromones again but not just to control her, it seemed she was ordered to ensure everyone in the bathhouse was calm and compliant when being given orders.

Once finished washing, Angel Dust helped her to dry off and then told Laura to follow her, telling her they had a lot of work to do to get her ready It seemed it was something of a special event when a girl was taken for a single master. Angel Dust and two girls Lara did not know by name but gathered by their appearances that they were the Exotics, the slaves who had unique physiology to appeal to certain clients. The first one featured white fur covering most of her skin, but striped like a tiger with cat-like eyes as well. The second had glowing skin that seemed to change colour as it was willed to. Tigress and Glow, all the names the slaves were given had been chosen to describe them to the clients it seemed.

Laura was guided towards the area reserved for changing the outward appearance of the girls. The first part of her 'special' preparation, Laura could identify what it really was about as she was forced to endure it. They dyed her hair purple, it seemed not only was the preparation for her owner's benefit, it was meant to reinforce her position as property by changing her natural appearance. They applied lipstick of the same colour and did her nails as well in the same tone, perfume scented like lilacs was added next, the colour of the flower it represented fitting with the rest of her appearance. They finished the first part, and then told her to stand in front of a large mirror and not to move as they prepared her. They produced body paint next and began to paint her entire body. Purple body paint was drawn across her face, arms, legs, stomach, back and even her rear in intermixed patterns and lines. Angel Dust explained to her it was how personal slaves were marked for an owner. They were given a colour that they would always be presented in, and the owner could always choose to have the colour changed at will if he liked. It was branding, she was now the exclusive property of a client and she was definitely not a person in anyone's eyes, simply something to be used as her owner wanted to use her.

They brought out new clothes for her to wear as well, her new top being a thing of purple latex that matched the body paint in tone it went from just under her breasts to her shoulders but had no sleeves and zipped at the back. It didn't leave her very covered in the front though, as a diamond-shaped hole in the material covering her breasts gave anyone with eyes a good view of her cleavage. A purple thong was added as well to maintain the colour scheme but that was not bothered her, it was the body paint and her hair. They had made her up specifically to be marked as one man's property, to be used as he wanted to completely submit her will to him. even if this Julian Keller was being truthful with his intentions, it was not easy to accept being made an object and not a person in such a visible manner.

They brought out new restraints that matched the new colour scheme of her outfit, steel painted the same purple as her body paint and clothes, there was a soft lining for comfort on the inside of each shackle but that was of little joy to her. Each one locked firmly around her wrists and ankles, with chains again of the same colour connecting each pair of restraints and keeping her mobility limited. Angel Dust then brought out a collar of the same type as her restraints and locked it around her neck, with a leash for her to be led around like an animal once more. King had just arrived as they had finished and smiled, holding a key in his hand.

"This one's for your owner, I've kept a copy for myself for when he gets bored of you or if he forgets to untie you and we need to have you prepared up for his return. You'd be surprised which order they can occur in if you don't live up to your owner's expectations." King waved the key in her face and gave her a threatening reminder she had better please her new owner.

"Wonderful work girls, I suspect her new owner is going to find it hard to leave here once he gets her to himself. We are forgetting one thing to make the whole thing complete though." King walked around Laura, evaluating her body markings and clothing as he looked her over.

Laura looked to see what Angel Dust was now carrying in her hands and stopped herself from making any reaction to avoid inviting more punishment. It was a new hood, like the one she had been forced into previously but now in the same colour as the rest of her costume.

"We pride ourselves on having a wide variety of supplies to make sure you pets are always how your owners like you. Your skin tone works so well with this colour and . After all, we are all about making sure your owners find you as desirable as possible. Still, need to make sure you're just how your master had you yesterday and he's got all the tools he needs for your personal training. Would you girls be so kind as to finish getting our little Doll ready?." King said in a tone Laura was sure he thought was charming.

Laura steeled herself against any reaction as the hood was pulled over her head, her hair was brought out in a ponytail at the back while she lost her sight once more.

"Ah, there we are, thank you my dear. Very good work tonight, all three of you. I'll make sure we save you for our more handsome clients tonight and give you a session with Bliss, no need to let the riff-raff get their hands on you for doing such a good job." Laura heard Master, complimenting Angel Dust as she felt her leash being yanked.

"Now, let's go see your new owner. I'm sure he's been looking forward to this all day and you don't want to disappoint him do you my little Doll?" King asked and waited for an answer, Laura kept her mind as blank as she could.

"Of course not my King." Laura managed in a submissive voice.

* * *

Julian checked his watch as he arrived, he had fourteen hours before he had to leave to sabotage the Stark-Roxon launch that would vault his parent to the top of the satellite navigation industry if he could covered his end of the deal. Problem was he had to leave in fourteen hours to sabotage a Stark-related project It was high-risk, Stark meant a possible Iron Man presence if Tony Stark thought the project needed special protection. He'd dodged Iron Man once before, but only because he'd ripped the doors off an armoured car while flying through New York and sent all the money flying and created a mass grab for the cash. He'd then slipped away while Iron Man tried to work crowd control.

These kinds of jobs required at least a day to scout things out, make sure there wasn't security that would cause a problem or a SHIELD Helicarrier wouldn't be flying by and notice him destroying a rocket in mid-flight. He still remembered his training from the Institute and more importantly, he knew he had to pull this off, if only so he could get back to help the girl.

Fourteen hours, including a full eight hours of sleep and perhaps some time to try and convince this new girl, Doll he was on her side. He reminded himself not to call her that, but calling her the girl didn't feel much better, he needed to find out her real name. He started walking towards the main room and stopped in mid stride as he saw King waiting with the smug look on his face that made Julian want to pop his head off his neck.

_That can't be her_ Julian first thought, then he took another look and realized it was her when he looked again. The girl before him had the same height, same build, same chest and the same unique pose that King didn't seem to notice or figured that Julian would take of care of while he 'trained' her. There she was, now with purple hair, purple body paint of the same colour drawn in ritualistic patterns across her entire body, this was what the special preparation was Julian realized. _They've marked her as my property, sick fucks, told her she's nothing but what I want her to be. _Julian got closer and could see everything was the same colour, her nails, lips, restraints and a hood like the one forced on her yesterday but the colour matching the rest of her clothing. Julian changed his mind on that word; it wasn't clothing as much as giving anyone with functional vision a near perfect idea of what she'd look like naked. The purple latex top had a very noticeable diamond hole in the front to show off her cleavage and a thong was not exactly something that covered anything. _Really need to take more cold showers before I come here _Julian thought, he hated that he was so aroused by her appearance but as he told himself, he was weak in this and had to fight it more.

"You like it? We find it helps to give preferred clients such as yourself a rather unique brand of ownership over your private pets and reminds them they only have one master. The clothing and markings are part of what we like to do to cater to the owner's preferences, I thought you'd like the girl to have a look prepared just for you. Don't worry about the taste of the paint either, it's a very special formula, completely harmless and tastes just like honey when you decide to get more acquainted with her." King said offering Julian a small key, then showing another in his hand.

"This is the other one, only you or I can take her shackles off, again to remind her who is charge, like you yourself said, that is rather important. If you'd like her to wear a different colour for next time, we can easily arrange that as well, or prefer her outfits to be of a certain type." King continued holding up his own key, Julian took the key offered and fumed at what the girl had been subjected to.

Julian didn't protest though, he allowed himself to stare at her and look at her well-formed body and the deeply sexual way she had been presented, as not to betray his intentions. He also caught a very distinct smell of lilacs, _great, like it wasn't bad enough when she was just driving me crazy with her looks. Still, at least with the SHIELD psi-blocker he's definitely staying out of my head from now on. _Julian had picked the psi-blocker and a new covert video recorder that disguised itself as an iPod Nano. The two pieces of stolen tech had cost ninety thousand dollars because of his haste to acquire them but it was just money and this was a matter of life and living death for the captives of The Club.

"I don't believe it, you've made my Doll even hotter than she was yesterday. I'm going to have a hard time leaving her and it seems a waste to have to after what you've done with her. The little Doll here's been dressed up just for me to enjoy and I'm sure she's been looking forward to being rewarded for working so hard to look hot for me." Julian allowed himself to say as he visually drank in her body and appearance, knowing he'd have to appear like he was even hotter for her than yesterday.

While the provocative attire was appealing, he hated that she had been made up like this for him and his 'enjoyment'. Julian's sole consolation was that she would not be touched by anyone and he could more freely think bloody, violent thoughts about King's demise without having to continuously focus his telekinesis to make his mind feel like static to King's intrusions.

My room is ready?" Julian asked, looking to skip over any more talk and get the poor girl out of the dehumanizing shackles and hood they had forced on her.

"As always, it has also been properly stocked in preparation for your arrival. Do enjoy her, we've been giving her a bit of incentive to be just as hospitable to you as she was last night." Julian fought to restrain himself for knocking King's teeth out for what that probably meant.

Julian didn't say another word though, he simply took the offered leash and led her off back to his private suite. Julian silently burned at the eyes following him as other clients and some guards watched him go by, or rather, the girl and her costume.

Julian entered the room with her, led her inside and shut the door, setting the lock on it and double-checking it was locked. He produced his scrambler and shut down the surveillance, it probably bothered King to no end he did this, but his enjoyment was not his concern. The chance of King having something that could avoid his detection was slim to none, if anyone could scramble surveillance it was SHIELD so he'd spared no expense to get their tech.. He knew King would keep trying, but then realized he had a girl trussed up like a bondage fantasy in the middle of the room.

"I'm sorry for whatever they did to you, I really thought I was going to get you a break by doing this." Julian said as he quickly removed the hood, collar and shackles as fast as he could get the key into each of the locks.

Laura's revealed expression did not seem to indicate she was in an amicable mood. Julian swore to himself, a crap apology to a girl taken as a sex slave was a bad way to go about this.

"By having me marked from top to bottom as your personal slave and put in a shackles and hood whenever I am to be presented to you? If that is your idea of help I do not know if I even can afford any more of it. I would suggest that if you wish to help, you either purchase my freedom or find a way to defeat King and his guards and free everyone here." Laura snapped at him angrily, not caring if she was going to get punished if he had been testing her the night before. She felt violated by her new appearance that had been commissioned for his benefit

"I couldn't take these people on my best day back when I had five friends who would follow me anywhere and even more people backing me up if we needed help. There are people who can help me but they're going to need proof and information about this place that they can use to mount a rescue. The problem is I don't know enough, even if I could work around the problem that the only entrance and exit is carried out by a teleporter, that still leaves the issue of fighting my way past all the regular guards, the guards who pretend to be slaves and King himself. He can't easily read my mind when I use my powers, but I bet he can do something nasty to it if he wanted to like if I tried to bring this place down myself. He's not going to try too hard to read my mind now, since I'm paying him two million a month to be here, he's not going to just do it for kicks." Julian shot back, trying to defend himself and prove to the girl he was on her side.

"It gets worse from there, they screen for any kind of tracking device the moment you arrive, even if we were on Earth and this place is not stuck between dimensions. They could have put this place underwater, or a mile underground if these guys know what they're doing and want to make sure none of you have any kind of real escape. That way they're not technically breaking any laws because they're not technically in anyone's jurisdiction. Then even if I fought my way past all the security, made the teleporter jump us out, we'd be out, but at least a hundred girls who are in even worse shape than you are keep getting used as brainwashed sex slaves and I'll never get back in here to try and help them. It's not just about you, I swore I'd get all of you girls free. I need you to help me to help all of them. Our fellow mutants are being treated worse than anything I ever heard about before I found out about this place, even the bastard U-Men who thought chopping us up would give them our powers. At least they would kill us, these girls are enduring a living death, no free will, no chance of escape, and they're just sex robots that this SICK FUCKING ASSHOLE uses like his own sick amusement park show!" Julian continued on, all his anger boiling out at once over his rage at the situation how he was failing to make any difference at all.

"The only people who might help me and that's a big if they do, are the X-Men. If you can help me gather the evidence, get them intelligence that will prove this place is here and I'm not just making some pathetic attempt to get back in with them than we have a shot. If I can drop a big bomb of information on their heads that they can't ignore and say I'm trying to weasel my way back in, they'll have to listen. No else even will care that much, mutants can only look after mutants in this world and the X-Men are the only ones who can really help us. I need your help to convince them, then I can bring them here, free everyone and kill that sick fuck King." Julian finished, catching his breathe after a long, angry rant.

"I was tortured today, every time they said something like freedom, they made me feel like I was having knives stabbed into me. When they said words like obey, they made it feel better than anything I've felt in my life. All because you asked for me, they wanted to make sure I would be an obedient slave for your enjoyment tonight. I was dressed up and branded for your enjoyment so I ask you, are you just going to enjoy your Doll or you going to try and help me again?" Laura accused him, testing his responses to test his level of sincerity.

His angry rant about his frustration indicated he was not a very capable planner or had any backup plan beyond enlisting her help. The pained response in his eyes when she spoke of her torture seemed to indicate sympathy, but an overly emotional character within. Laura would have to take over the planning as much as possible to maximize her chance at escape if he was intentional in trying to assist her. _Still, he does claim to know the X-Men, but his attitude also makes it appear he has had a falling out with them and it would be unwise to press further on this. If I act as if I know of them in detail, he may ask questions I can not easily answer and there is a distinct possibility he has not angered Wolverine most of all with whatever he did. _Laura had to carefully evaluate this situation, the X-Men could save or doom her to a worse fate, if she was given over to the wrong people and forced to be X-23 again.

Wolverine would certainly want to help her if he knew of her situation, but his unreliability and instability in his psych profile made it dangerous to involve him. Worse, he could tell the others how he knew her or be psychically compromised by one of the Institute's psychics about and the truth would be revealed anyway. While Laura did want to escape, she would use her primary plan involving Julian's offer of help. Her identity was protected, she would escape and slip away before anything could be done to contain her. The secondary plan on this track would require knowledge of herself, but at least if they took her out of there, the X-Men would not likely be ready to fight to the death to arrest her. For now, better to work with Julian, feed him information if he was telling the truth and then let them strike the place and engage in a rescue operation.

"I could have just left you to get used by just about every sick fuck that comes in here to rape these poor girls. I did the only thing I thought I could do to make your situation better, I didn't they were going to do this to you! If you want, I can tell them I changed my mind and you're being too stubborn to be my slave!" Julian snapped angrily, he was trying to do the best he could in an impossible situation and was getting berated for it. He immediately regretted it as he saw the look of both fear and hatred flash across her face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, I just don't like being yelled at when I'm trying to help. I just didn't want any of these sick bastards having his way with you because I can't stay here all day to make sure no one else got you." Julian tried again, trying to sound sincere but that was a problem.

Sincerity was not something that could ever have defined as Julian Keller's primary talent, or even his top ten most reliable abilities in life. He really didn't know what that sounded like after living like he had lately. His life was a lie, he'd been a smooth-talking jerk who didn't mind bending the truth to get what he wanted all of his life and it was coming back to bite him in the worst possible way. There he was, trying to win the trust of a kidnapped mutant girl his own age who he had arranged to be his personal sex slave without sounding like a jerk. He'd have a better chance convincing the X-Men to take him off by reading a Haiku he wrote to them.

"Apology accepted, I understand you want to earn my trust but I have to test your responses. These place is catering to all forms of sexual deviants and I am still unsure about whether or not you are attempting a set of mind games to break my will or do intend to rescue me." Laura kept probing, taking an apology to read reactions and further probing questions for reactions.

_Good, more disgust, he is either a masterful actor mixing in the emotional state he either plays at having or is actually in. _Laura considered Julian's face contorting in anger and disgust at the thought he was like any of the other patrons of The Club, or that he could be so twisted as to try to mentally destroy her like that.

"You know, I would really like to know your name. You're not Doll, that's what they say you are, I want to know who you really are." Julian said, deciding to start from the beginning.

Laura considered this very carefully, this could be a massive punishment in the making and severe torture that would occur on a longer, more frequent basis. Laura had to take the risk though, she needed to get a better measure of him and it would feel good to rebel a bit about the non-identity that was being forced upon her.

"Laura Kinney." Laura offered, hearing her own name out loud felt good, she hadn't heard it a long time actually.

"Nice to meet you Laura Kinney." Julian said as he smiled a bit, it was good to know her name.

_No punishment, he is attempting to be pleasant as he hears my name, seems relieved that he knows as me something other than his slave or by the name they have given me. Good indicators so far, I will need to test him further. Still, I should test him on his offer of an escape plan, see how well organized he can be and what he knows about intelligence gathering. _Laura evaluated her options, it seemed a limited amount of contact between them would be permissible for now. Escape plans were more likely to fail the longer they took to plan as one had to plan and execute quickly before they could be suspected of even planning anything.


	5. Alliance

Disclaimer: Writer not affiliated with Marvel in any way, shape or form, characters and original settings all belong to Marvel Comics. Just wanted to finally give these two a chance, been rooting for them since they met in New X-Men. Now let's all write Craig Kyle and Chris Yost and tell them to give these two a break in the comics, I think we can all agree they both deserve it!

Timeline Notes: M-Day has not happened in this timeline, nor did Laura/X-23 take part in joining the characters of NYX, but her personal timeline before NYX is intact. Claremont's X-Men run and by extension and the events in New X-Men have not involved Laura Kinney at all. Similarly, events that became possible by M-Day such as Civil War, Messiah Complex and Secret Invasion will not have occurred. (Mass mutant rebellion against Registration would have fielded advantage to the Anti-Registration side after all). Julian Keller has left the Xavier Institute approximately one year before the story takes place, but the Hellions Mini and his activity in New Mutants Volume 2 and New X-Men: Academy X have all taken place.

Character Notes: Estimating Julian to be 17 years old at the time of this and Laura to be about 16 years old given Comic timelines move in strange and mysterious ways and characters are suddenly younger and older for no reason. Maintaining Laura's tendency of not using contractions and slang when she talks as seen in New X-Men and X-Force. Also taking my best guess on Laura's personality in this time line and how it would evolve over time.

Note for "M" Label: Contains strong language, strong sexual themes with some graphic description in certain chapters with intermittent violence and some scenes of torture. Not for younger readers of course, but it's the internet and I doubt anyone's taking maturity labels seriously… Not all chapters will contain everything above, so relax, not a wall-to-wall smutfest.

Chapter Five: Alliance

"What have you planned so far in terms of a escape or rescue?" Laura asked, wondering if Julian actually had any real ability to help her escape. He seemed too emotional and unfocused to plan and effect a proper mass escape or liberation of The Club.

"Why don't we sit down first? Take my jacket if you like." Julian suggested, then handed over his jacket and Laura gladly slipped it on to cover herself. He sat down on the chair that faced the large bed, Laura sat on the bed itself and evaluated her potential rescuer.

"I've managed to map out all the areas the clients get to use and I've guessed at how much space there are for the private rooms, but I've really been focusing on a mass escape. I thought about stealing enough cash to buy the freedom of girls who were taken in here but that wouldn't work, even if King took me seriously on that, he'd just take more girls to replace the ones I freed. I'd be broke much faster and likely in jail from stealing the tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars he'd want. I wouldn't be able to help and I doubt he'd run out of mutant girls to abduct before I could free them all. I need your help to find out how the other half live, I need to know how many girls are back in the slave quarters, what kind of guards are here and if King's got any specific ability to stop an escape. I know he's telepathic but I have used my telekinesis in the past to interfere with him gently probing my mind, now I've got this." Julian said as he pulled out his psi-blocker and showed it to her.

"I thought since we would be planning this escape, I'd need to make sure if he became suspicious of me, I could protect my thoughts entirely. I don't think I can slip you one without him noticing though, sorry." Julian explained the device and replaced it in his left pocket.

Julian forced himself to keep eye contact with her only and not look down, but there was body paint on her face as well and he couldn't politely plug his nose to pretend her lilac perfume was not alluring.

Laura evaluated his expression, tone of voice and the way he tried to avoid looking at her body in any way. If she was being decieved, he was trained extremely well for deception considering his age, somewhat encouraging, such training was rare.

"King has put some kind of hypnotic command in our heads, if we try to hurt King, a guard, fellow slave or a client or even ourselves, we are instantly paralyzed. You know the fourth condition as I would imagine all clients are briefed about the violence prevention commands implanted in our subconscious. They have a mutant who can turn off your powers if he's close to you called Switch, they stay off if he goes away, I don't know if he has to keep turning them off or it's permanent. When I am taken for conditioning sessions with the two likely guard/sex workers Bliss and Pain, I am far too distracted by what they do to even notice if anyone has ever entered or exited the room. I do not know if the guards have powers but since I imagine you are not the only mutant client, it would seem likely if they needed to keep them in line immediately. While Switch can deactivate powers, he is not omnipresent either. I suspect the Inducers have some kind of rank that puts them above the others, the way the other girls seem to bend their wishes like they were King himself. There was one today in the bathhouse while I was there, she wore a red leather dominatrix outfit and had girls kissing her feet." Laura started with her intelligence gathering, deciding to see what Julian could do if she offered him some information.

"I've seen her before and she's bad news, she's called Mistress and you don't get to pick her, she picks you. I've seen clients beg on their knees in front of everyone to have her work him over, or have her with his personal slave, or a dozen different kind of disgusting offers and requests. She enjoys it making the men fight over her, than usually picks the one she thinks is the most attractive, or tells a client she will pick the girls they will be with and I've seen her take two or three girls with her plus a client." Julian thought about the scary women, he could see the evil in her eyes he was sure.

"I must ask you, if you have been a paying member of this club, have you ever coupled with any of the girls as part of your cover ?" Laura asked, wondering if Julian was just another deviant who had a crisis of conscience, such people were unreliable.

"No! I have the Inducers give me sessions when I come here, they just touch me and do what they do to make it all feel really good, that as far as I went maintain my cover. It was the only way to maintain my cover without outright violating any of the prisoners, I was lucky those Inducers I did have give me treatments aren't actual prisoners or I think I'd been too timid to ask one of them to do anything to me. I probably would have panicked enough to grab King with my powers and threaten him to let all the girls go free. That would have had his teleporter probably drop me in the middle of the ocean, a volcano or deep space. I never, **ever** had sex with anyone here and I don't ever plan to even to maintain my cover, the thought of committing rape to try and 'save' any of these girls makes me ill. I heard about this place and buying my way in was the only way, but I had to play my part. I've wanted to tear it apart since I got here but I need help to do it and I kind of burned the bridges that would have had a whole lot of help once upon a time. The joke being, if I hadn't done what I did to burn my bridges, I'd never know about this place." Julian burst out in a panicked voice, he needed to make sure Laura didn't think him some kind of sick freak that was using these girls while he worked to rescue them

Julian needed to get help from the X-Men from what he had to do, but without her help and her trust, they'd never take five seconds to listen to him. He had burned the X-Men three times in three weeks, the first week by being himself, hotheaded and arrogant that caused one of the worst days ever to happen at the Institute. The second was when he spurned their offer to give him a second chance and ran off. Julian would had done this rather than walk through the halls and face all the people he had failed that day and not see the people he'd failed the most ever again. The third time when news reports had circulated about his second act of sabotage, a brilliant green light that shot out of a Stark International site carrying with it a piece of next-generation medical technology. His parents had reverse-engineered it and doubled the profits of their medical research firm. The connection had been obvious, he was given a telepathic message from Miss Frost. _Cross the line or come near the school again Mr. Keller and we will turn you over to the authorities. We will refrain from that for now as we have enough troubles without the added publicity of an ex-student being a corporate saboteur. You have been warned. _It was a twisted series of events that led him to leave the Institute, become his parent's personal tool of corporate warfare and then discovered The Club, which in turn meant he couldn't take it down, because he had left Xavier's and become a corporate saboteur.

"I appreciate the veracity of your answers about when speaking of possible sexual impropriety with myself or the other slaves. I must caution you through, from what I have seen around here, any escape plan will be highly fraught with danger. I believe even with a complete layout of the complex and knowledge of who the guards are and what they can do, it would seem a difficult mission to carry out even with a capable team." Laura said, first thanking Julian for his continued frank answers, his moods seemed to be flipping at a rather random rate.

Laura determined Julian was likely fighting an underlying sexual desire for her that his body clearly displayed from his flushed skin and attempts to divert anywhere below her neck. There were also his guarded attempts to breath through his mouth to avoid the scent of her perfume He was seemingly shamed at the same time of this desire and further ashamed she surmised that he could not effect an immediate rescue. They were all good indicators he was telling the truth or partly the truth to a certain degree. The possibility also existed that he might be mentally fit enough to carry out with his intentions and false mannerisms as if they were genuine.

"I don't really care that much what happens to me if I can make this all go away. I have to ask though, you seem to know what's going on better than I do, did you ever go to the Institute? Leave before I got there? In fact, where did you live and what did you do before these bastards brought you here?" Julian declared, deciding he might as well admit he wasn't that attached to living his life as it was and he wanted to get to know her as well, trust-building would be key.

Julian needed her to know he wasn't being selfish and he was putting himself at personal risk and willing to risk himself in this way to help her. Julian needed to know something though, Laura's analysis of The Club was puzzling for a recently captured prisoner, very calculated and tactical, it was like she was trained to escape from such situations.

"It is not easy to explain nor do I have time to do it when we have more important matters to discuss. It will be sufficient to say I have training that will help in collecting the information you need if you need to know how I can help you. The true problem remains you can not do this by yourself and I am not able to fight anyone here without becoming instantly incapacitated." Laura quickly deflected away any possible further enquiry into her past.

Laura did not like the feeling she got from this boy's plan to help her escape, it depended upon people he did not seem able to rely upon for actual assistance. The boy himself would not be able to help her in a solo escape effort even, her escape plans were being compromised when she had just started drafting useful ones for once.

"If you can get me the rest of the information on this place there are things I can do. The problem was even if I got help now, we'd bully our way in, but then this asshole would probably just have his guys teleport all of you to some back-up location or something. This has to be planned and I need inside information, information only you can get me. If I know the layout, I know where the guards are, who they are, what they can do, we've got a chance. The people I ticked off may not like me much but if I bring them this, they'll have to listen, I'll **make **them listen. Nobody deserves this, you should be free, not chained up like an animal. Right now, I'm just a punk kid who's abusing his powers for his own gain to them, even if they would talk to me right now, telling them there's this place somewhere enslaving mutants, they wouldn't believe me. They'd think I was making something up just to try and con my way back in there." Julian said lowering his head and looking at his shoes, he felt ashamed having to put so much on the girl, Laura that she would have to do more work than he did for an escape to work.

"Do you believe that with the right evidence and intelligence they would listen to you and help me escape?" Laura asked cautiously, if he could bring the X-Men to his side, escape could be possible.

"Only with the right information, I can't even get them on the phone for five seconds without their hanging up on me. I show up without the right evidence, they might never listen to me a second time and that's them being nice if they just throw me out. I need all the information you can give me about The Club, how many guards are stationed where you and the other girls are kept, which of the women here are not slaves but actually helping run the place and a firsthand account from you. It's a video recorder that I managed to smuggle in here." Julian pulled out the video recorder disguised as a music player.

"No, you might be lying to me still. This could be another test to make sure I learn I can not escape. Or as I said before, this could be a game as you might be a very convincing sexual deviant who enjoys practicing in mental torture." Laura said suddenly, her caution had returned after several minutes of disarming talk with Julian, she still could not be sure of what he wanted.

"What do I have to do to prove to you I want to help dammit!" Julian said pounding the armrest of his chair.

"Take off your shirt." Laura demanded.

"What?" Julian said standing up shocked.

"One of my powers is a heightened sense of smell that would allow me to detect if you're lying. My powers don't work right now, so I need you to remove your shirt so I can check your heart rate while I ask you a series of questions. I am well-versed in methods of collecting information and this is the best available method right now, I will also watch your facial features for reactions or noticeable efforts to concentrate and control your heart rate to try and avoid the truth. If I can determine you're being truthful with me, we can proceed. Or you will have to do something else to prove you are trustworthy, such as having them restore my powers so I can more accurately sense your intentions." Laura crossed her arms and explaining her position, waiting for his reaction.

"Fine, whatever." Julian pulled off his shirt and stood in front of her bare-chested and sweated at the thought of what came next. Would he be able to control himself at that close proximity?

He tried not to think about her touching his bare skin, her perfume that was again, driving him nuts as she drew closer. He found himself physically attracted to her and he didn't need her thinking he wanted to have her right there, against the wall if she'd let him. He had to remain in control, he filled his mind with thoughts of golf and the Arctic, _keep it together. You need her help to get this done or you're never getting anywhere, she seems to know a lot that could help make this possible. Don't be stupid and try to lie if she asks something embarrassing, better an honest fool than a lying hero right now._

Laura noticed the puckered scar on the right side of his chest _grenade fragments likely, _a curious scar especially considering that it had likely shredded at least one major artery and caused organ damage, the boy was fortunate to be alive. He had a second mark on his chest over his heart but it was not a scar, it was a tattoo that had K.F.B.C.S.Q.J.G. in large block letters, with an H under it and under the H February 11th 2008. It obviously meant something important, it was hardly a very comfortable place to get a tattoo due to the sensitivity of the skin there.

"What does this mean?" Laura asked looking at Julian's tattoo.

"Nothing, you wouldn't understand." Julian said dismissively than realized the solution to his problem. _Think about what happened, if you do get a hard-on now then at least you do know your soul is dead._

"I am aware this is an uncomfortable environment for you as I have been prepared to make myself as sexually attractive as possible your benefit by my captors. I know you are trying to control your more base desires right now. I will take this in to consideration when I check your responses. If you break eye contact with me or attempt to look away, I will judge you to be evading the truth and will stop." Laura said as she placed her hand over his heart and silently counted off the beats, it was elevated, no doubt due to her proximity.

"Is your name Julian Keller?" Laura asked.

"Yes." Julian answered, keeping eye contact with her and telling himself not to look into her cleavage.

"Do you have dark hair?" Laura asked.

"Yes." Julian replied, _Same as his name, either he dyes it and is lying about his name or he's telling the truth, now, false statement._

"Did you invent the telephone?" Laura asked.

"No." Julian replied, feeling strange with the light touch against the stern voice. _Same as name and hair colour, either he's a time traveler or he is in complete control and not showing signs. Highly improbable he is a plant by King,, but again, he is extremely wealthy to visit a place like this but how he attained this wealth is unknown and could be highly illegal._

"Do you find yourself attracted to me physically?" Laura asked, deciding to make him sweat a bit, either he would lie to try and make himself feel better or lying or decide to tell the truth and embarrass himself.

"Yes." Julian answered, honesty was all he had with her right now, no point in ruining it with an obvious lie. _True again, good. But not good if he is lying and does want to have me._

"Would you ever touch me or engage me in a sexual manner without my consent?" Laura went on, testing his resolve in this matter.

"No." Julian answered forcefully, _true again, I doubt most SHIELD agents could lie able to sell this so well, his facial expression showed a hint of disgust as well, good signs._

"If I told you could have me in a physical manner and I would willingly participate, would you take the opportunity to couple with me physically?" Laura went on one step further, she needed to see if she could knock him off-balance if he was controlling himself.

Julian sweated at that question, he couldn't say nothing and if he said no she'd know he was lying and he'd lose her trust, he had to say it.

"Yes." Julian winced as he said it, _Shamed expression, but true as well, he is a young man and has trouble controlling his physical desires. He finds my body intensely arousing but is ashamed that he wants it when we are in an owner-slave relationship._

"Do you wish to free me from slavery?" Laura asked, probing into the most important questions.

"Yes." Julian replied _True, still no fluctuations, one more. _Laura thought.

"If you could not effect a mass rescue, would you still try and buy my freedom?" Laura asked, this was the real test, did he consider her a tool or a person he wanted to save as well.

"Yes." Julian answered _True, good, if he's stringing me along, he has a bio-mechanical heart that perfectly replicates a human heartbeat and allows him to regulate it. Highly unlikely, further more unlikely that is SHIELD or that capable a lair, his moods and body language are far too unguarded and erratic to be an effective agent of any kind._

"You believe me now?" Julian asked as Laura stepped back and nodded, he reached to pull his shirt back on but she grabbed his arm.

"No." Laura said firmly.

"Excuse me?" Julian asked, wondering what she was intending.

"If I have to be kept dressed up like a slave for my entire time here, you can at least show some solidarity and feel a little exposed yourself. I was prepared especially your benefit in mind and I would like a gesture of good faith, this will be a condition of our continuing agreement." Laura said, Julian thought about arguing this but let it go, he needed her to trust him and if leaving his shirt off would help, he would go along with it.

_He doesn't argue, he feels ashamed of his scar and what that tattoo means but he will not admit exactly what they are. Still he respects my feelings of being a piece of property for either his real or fake enjoyment enough to reveal a bit of his own shame. Those scars and tattoo seem to be a reminder of a very painful chapter that happened just over a year ago, it is probably they might indicate why he was forced out of the X-Men's school._

"First part of this plan must be for us to find a way to effectively disguise my thoughts against King. He has visited me for the last two days and will probably continue to do so to make sure my conditioning is setting in and you are satisfied with me as your slave. King will probably be checking my mind when he checks up on me he makes sure I am behaving like a submissive slave and not plotting escape.. I can not shield my mind from him like you can, do you know of any technology or other methods I could use to conceal my intentions from him?" Laura began, deciding that for now, she'd play along.

"When I left the Institute, I borrowed a few things that I thought might come in handy one day. One thing I got was a lesson plan on dealing with different mutant powers." If you check the right inside pocket, you should an e-reader in there." Laura nodded and reached inside the jacket and produced the device.

"There's a chapter there about keeping a surface thought level and one hidden below it to hide intentions, I don't think regular psychic shields would work with this guy. He's obviously powerful enough to plant commands in your head and read the mind of anyone he's focused on long enough He can take as much time as he needs to break through so the traditional methods that superheroes just to protect themselves are no good. He's managed to subjugate telepaths into working for him, indicating him powerful enough to invade their minds when they could have established strong defences. I think the only way we can do this is to be subtle." Julian mentioned as Laura nodded and began scanning through the e-reader he'd kept from the Institute.

"This will take time to study and implement, this is not the kind of psychic shielding I was taught before." Laura said as she thought about her Facility training, it was strange, she had been wondering why her psychic shielding had not held up at first then it had hit her, he'd just taken his time. If you kept ramming a door with a battering ram, it would always come down.

"In the meantime, I need to record your story for proof I can use so I can try and get us help. If you could give me something to get started with that would help a lot." Julian asked Laura as he held up the compact video recorder he had brought with him.

Julian briefly considered asking Laura what kind of training she had to defend against psychic attacks, she seemed much more well-versed in psychic defence than he was.

"What is the time and date today? I'll need it for this." Laura asked as she thought about it, since her abduction, she had completely lost track of the calendar time.

"6:34 PM, April 6th, 2009." Julian said checking his watch.

"My name is Laura Kinney, I was abducted by agents of an underground sex slave operation called The Club somewhere between March 10th and 13th, 2009. I lost track of time when I was captured although I am told now told by Julian Keller, a fellow mutant who is attempting to effect my release that it is now 6:34 PM, April 6th of the same year. Time is extremely hard to measure here and there are no clocks anywhere for slaves to see or visitors to use besides their own personal timepieces so determination of this location by time zone will probably not be possible This operation is run by a mutant who calls himself King, obviously a pseudonym that he uses to establish his authority over the mutant women he abducts for his services. I am sixteen years old and I suspect that I am not unique in being taken as teenager, as such subjects are more easily broken into being sex slaves." Laura started, Julian listened to her rather impassioned explanation and couldn't help but feel upset all over again listening to what had been done to her so far.

"He has a very powerful telepathic ability, as I have some psychic defences but he managed to break through them when I was captured. I awoke at an unknown point in my captivity with implanted subconscious commands, making it impossible to harm my captors or anyone else. The other slaves here are all mutants are being used as sex slaves for wealthy clients, all male from what I know. King's security is based first on the psychic commands I and all other slaves are implanted with which make any kind of physical violence impossible even against ourselves. Second, he has active guards, possibly mutant as there seems to be a number of mutant clients from what I understand that may require restraining or ejection from The Club at various times. There are further sets of security to ensure he has complete control of everything that goes on. There is a mutant called Switch who turns off mutant powers seemingly at will, whether this effect is temporary or not I can not tell due to the nature of my captivity and treatment. I am taken for daily torture sessions with two Inducers, that is mutants who can induce pain or pleasure with a touch of their hands. I am given positive and negative reinforcement, by the pleasure inducer using words such as loyalty, obedience, pet, and my slave name, Doll when she gives me treatments. The other inducer, called Pain is responsible for negative reinforcement, causing agony when words like rebellion, disobedience, escape and the word no. This disorientation I suffer when I am undergoing this conditioning makes it impossible to know if Switch is disabling my powers on a daily basis or he has placed a permanent paralysis on my mutant abilities." Laura went on, Julian was almost ready to storm out the door and take King's hide off an inch at a time as had to impotently listen to what Laura was having done to her.

"I am a self-healing mutant and I have been told I will regain my abilities when I become a fully obedient slave, I am told now and being trained to believe they control my powers and not I. This was one of the first ways they worked to break down my resistance, I was physically beaten when I was first taken here on multiple occasions only after I was beaten was my power activated so my body could regenerate, I am unsure how long it went on but I suspect at least a week. This method seems to be employed of selectively activating a mutant's power until one is tortured and brainwashed enough that she has becoming a willing slave. I am certain this is determined by King asking her questions about how she feels about being a slave while examining her mind for any attempt to deceive when questions are answered. I have not had any serious deterioration of my mental condition and I have had training in the past that will help safeguard my mind against such damage I am concerned that if enough time passes I will become like the other captives here, his torture and conditioning methods will eventually win out, such methods always do even if they face a very determined mind. The girls here are docile with little free will, they just seem to do as they are told, when they are told to do it. Some of the other women here seem to have become our captors as well as King's final ring of security, informers against anyone who might try to escape. A portion of the slaves here have become brainwashed and hopelessly dependent on their captors instructions or are addicted to treatments from Inducer when they follow commands. I suspect nearly all the Inducers here are actually guards themselves and have rank and privilege in The Club, King himself seems to have an addiction to them from what little I have seen and overheard." Laura dictated into the video recorder and then stopped, deciding that was all she would reveal for now.

Laura had come very close tonight about revealing her past and she didn't need Julian thinking he was going to release a mass murderer when she freed her. She was not X-23, not anymore. She would be Laura Kinney again if Julian was telling the truth about helping her.

"What's this training you keep talking about?" Julian asked, and then backed away when he received a venomous stare.

"Nothing I will be sharing with you, if you want my cooperation, we will not talk about it ever again, understood? You obviously do not wish to talk about the origins of your scar or the purpose of your tattoo so I would suggest keep this relationship amicable we avoid probing one another's past." Laura said quickly shooting down his interest in her past, then using his own discomfort with discussing his scar to disarm his efforts to probe further.

"Sure, you're in charge. Do what you want for now, like you said, you've had a shit day. You call the shots." Julian said as he slumped into a chair, deciding that giving the power over to her was the best way to keep this strange relationship working. He wondered why she was so guarded about what had gone on in her past but considering the way her luck seemed to go for her, it was better to just leave it alone. Besides, he wasn't about to admit to her the last time he had tried to be a hero, he had failed miserably.

Laura started studying the information on disguising intentions and realised that while it sounded simply enough, maintaining two separate trains of thought, one more obvious than the other. King wouldn't suspect anything too devious from a mere slave girl, so he would unlikely look past her surface thoughts. She re-read the chapter and practiced, but found it more difficult than it appeared. _I must master this quickly, I will only be able to practice it with him and there is no guarantee I will have time to hide here every day. The longer this plan goes on without being carried out, the more risk we will be discovered or I will become either fully brainwashed or an addict to treatments from an Inducer like Bliss. _Laura thought as she continued to work away at separating her thought processes. Laura knew she would be able to retain memories of what she observed and King would not necessarily pick up on that, which would her to collect information in the meantime. The problem arose that if King suspected that she was not taking to her new position fast enough or that Julian behaved in a suspicious manner after a supposed night together, it could mean a rigorous scan of her mind. If such a thing occurred, Laura doubted she would see much time outside of the conditioning room and Julian would likely be killed or sold as a hostage to the X-Men.

Julian seemed busy writing something down on a notepad. Laura let her eyes linger on him a moment. She had sold herself to quite a few clients on the street, but mostly men who were cheating on their wives or were too disgusting to attract women in normal ways. Julian was far better-looking than any of them, with a well-toned body and attractive facial features. He wasn't unpleasant to look at, she was surprised he seemed so unsure at times, usually men with good looks were superbly confident and he had a potent mutant ability with telekinesis to bolster that confidence. Laura suspected that the scar on his chest and the guarded meaning of his tattoo had something to do with his changing level of self-confidence. This would work well for her, since he seemed ready to grant her power over him in this setting, she would be able to keep her past from him until she had escaped. There was no telling what would happen if he found out about X-23. Laura determined that would not happen unless it meant her definite captivity in The Club without revealing more of herself. She was confident she could probably keep him off-balance or feeling shamed enough about her current supposed role to him to avoid that.

Julian stole glances at Laura every once in a while, trying to concentrate on writing a speech or some kind of persuasive argument to try out when he went to the X-Men. He something persuasive that he could make people believe, even those that didn't trust him one iota. While evidence was good he was still tempted to fly right into the X-Mansion, give one of those big speeches one always heard in the movies and lead all the X-Men back here to tear the place down.

Laura was still distracting him though, she had been dressed specifically for his pleasure and no one else's and on a certain base level in his brain that felt appealing. Then there was just the provocative design of her costume and appearance meant to ensure that he would have no trouble becoming aroused or enjoy the stark outline of her body against the clothes she wore. Laura was wearing his jacket over her top and had folded up her legs to cover herself but that didn't help, the thought of her wearing something of his was just kept him thinking about her body and nothing else.

He took the time to try writing down what he felt he wanted to do with her, and embellished some of it to fit with the tone of her being his slave. He would use it as banter with King if he was bothered when he left, which he was sure he would be to make sure his 'pet' was doing her job. Julian needed to make sure kept talking about Laura in as glowing terms as possible to make sure he sounded like she would not need to be 'conditioned' so much. He didn't want her as a slave, but he did want her body like he'd wanted no other girl he'd even been near before. He sighed, it wasn't going to happen and it was foolish to think about it, even if he got her free, she wouldn't want to see him again. He was sure of it, no one would want to be around someone who reminded them they used to be a slave, someone's property. He thought he liked her but he couldn't tell, his body was telling him one thing but his brain was telling him another. _Maybe I should just sit in a big box of ice before I come here from now on, or ask her give it to me in the junk again, a bit softer but just enough so I'm numb for a bit. _Julian considered the thought, at least then he might be able to think straight for more than five minutes.

The time passed by quietly, they took time to sleep and rest, Laura not taking much sleep at all saying she would rather work on the thought masking protest. It was the same as yesterday, he took a chair and she had the bed when they did sleep, he wasn't going to begrudge her the tiniest bit of comfort while she was trapped as she was. Suggesting to share the bed was something he banished out of his head the second the thought crossed his mind. It was a stupid, horny reaction about being that close to her that drove the thought. Julian couldn't withdraw his desire for her without removing some things that wouldn't make him a member of his gender he suspected. He would be damned though if he'd make her feel like he was waiting for the right moment to feel her up as his property.

When they took turns to sleep, Julian couldn't help but have Laura in his head, with him, in her slave costume but whispered into his ear that she wanted him. Then he a saw a Purifier come up from behind and blast her head off with his gun and he awoke with a start. Julian went to the bathroom, splashed cold water on his face and looked at his tattoo and scar again. _Fucking Purifiers, stupid fucking subconscious, don't put her in there! The people who actually died are bad enough! _Julian thought to himself, he had few restful sleeps anymore, even before he'd known about the Club, more than a year of consistent nightmares of that day he just couldn't fix. Julian had thought about getting therapy for what happened, a year of nightmares had not helped him at all to do anything but keep his mind on that one day. The problem was most therapists wouldn't open their doors to a mutant and he just didn't want to admit to anyone what he had done if they would take him.

Julian decided he would have to give Laura more cover for when he visited to try and keep his mind off of her, he would start wearing a trench coat he decided, give it to her the second he had the scrambler up then stay on the opposite end of the room. _Don't look, don't touch, and don't even think _Julian told himself as he looked over, Laura was still sleeping. He wished she didn't have to wake up and go back to being a slave out there, she looked so peaceful.

Laura had a peculiar dream, at first her powers were back and she was able to finally take revenge. Master, Switch and every guard who had put his hands on her since she had had taken lay dead and bleeding on the floor. Even Kimura was there and her skin wasn't unbreakable, Laura killed her on the first strike. It was the first time in a while she had one of her revenge dreams that allowed her to take a measure of revenge against those who had used her. It didn't feel better, her mother, the one person who had tried to save her from her life as X-23 had died because of her trigger scent programming. Killing each of them was a tiny release, but it felt like she was just trying to fill in a hole somewhere in her with the dead bodies of those who had mistreated here. The scene then began to change, soon it was just pure white around, she was standing with Julian, who was without his shirt and lightly touching her arm in a pleasing sensation. It wasn't like when she was just suddenly hit with a pleasure pulse, it felt very nice as he pulled her in closer, she ran her hand across her chest and sampled the sensations. It was very different, while she had sold herself on the street and engaged in sexual acts, it was a very different feeling with him in the dream.

Laura awoke from her dream, noticing that Julian had a bit of water dripping from his chin, from what she couldn't guess and seemed a bit shaken. _It could have been a bad dream for him as well, the scar would explain that, post-traumatic stress is not uncommon among those suffering near-fatal injuries in dangerous situations. _

"I should be able to conceal my thoughts if I am able to practice this for several more days, how long and often can you bring me here?" Laura asked as she sat in a meditative pose, trying to keep her thought streams on top of one another.

'That's the problem, the money that lets me come here? I need to work for it and I have to work for it pretty soon, I might be gone for a couple of days too depending upon how long it takes to get the job done. I don't really need the money though, . If you want me to stay, I'm pretty sure I could delay this a bit or even turn down the job I've been given saying I couldn't complete it safely." Julian said as he tried to give her a chance to stay here longer, away from her torturers.

"You should go about your routine as usual, it could be considered suspicious if you suddenly changed your behaviour to the point of staying in a private room for days to couple with me. I am your personal slave and I am here to be used for your enjoyment, you take me when it is convenient for you and when you need to protect your income you leave me to wait for you. I am a toy for you, you do not need to worry about my feelings and you should behave as such in these matters." Laura said as she worked through the best ways to avoid any suspicion or extra attention being brought down on them.

Laura doubted she would be able to give a suitable explanation to King if she went into a pretend three day session of sex with her owner even if the thought masking worked. Furthermore, extended engagements of such kind would cause curiosity, about how 'capable' she was and Julian's sexual appetite suddenly changing so rapidly.

"Will you able to make it through if I am gone a couple of days? You seemed a bit worried when you were making the recording about how long you could last with those psychos trying to brainwash you." Julian asked, still concerned, he didn't want to return to find her broken down, or Switch waiting to turn off his power with a gun pointed at his head.

"I will survive, you are not an assassin are you?" Laura asked, realizing she had no idea how Julian could afford to come to The Club this at his age. There were several possibilities including a very rich family, but with mutant powers such as his, criminal activity was easily a possibility.

"No! I work for a company, my bosses have me make other companies have accidents so they can make more money and by bosses I mean parents, although they'd be loathe to admit it. Seems a mutant son is a black mark on the family." Julian said, explaining what he did, then noticed he let a bit too much slip. He didn't like mentioning that and it was especially dumb trying to act like he had a rough time.

"I understand, I was just concerned about your age and the fact that you needed to work for your wealth. My estimate of your most likely profession with the information I had about your likely income, access to restricted technology and personal schedule, assassination seemed the most logical choice. I know corporate sabotage is a highly profitable business, especially for a telekinetic that can use his abilities in manners that make many things look like accidents." Laura said as she noted that he seemed upset mentioning what he did _he is not happy with who he is, this could be his motivation for trying to help me if he is sincere, trying to make things right. Not unknown behaviour for some people. _Laura considered.

"You should go, I will manage to survive two more days of these treatments. I estimate it takes a minimum of four weeks of their treatments for complete breakdown to be guaranteed with most subjects they abduct. With my training, I can easily outlast those estimates and not be affected severely for at least three weeks. I should be able to compile the information you need within nine to fifteen days I believe. I suspect that I am the first new slave to be taken for personal use by a single client as well. With being kept away from the majority of clients to be forced into the role of a sex slave, which is what probably allows quicker brainwashing and submission of their slaves to be carried out. With your claiming me as your own, I can probably further stretch my estimates on my mental fortitude remaining at least an additional two weeks." Laura told Julian as he still seemed quite reluctant to leave her.

"I just wish I could keep you away from them longer." Julian said as he winced at the thought of her being forced through more of her 'conditioning' treatments.

"It is not necessary to apologize, we are maintaining a cover so we can collect intelligence and plan an effective escape. Your efforts to protect me will likely allow me to gather the information you need to convince your former allies in the X-Men to aid you and assemble a workable plan to assault this location." Laura let him know she was thankful for his efforts, he wanted to help and with his ability to contact the X-Men, escape had a distinct possibility for once.

"In order to maintain our cover we should appear to have rather forcefully coupled again." Laura declared, it wasn't a question, she was telling him they had to look like they'd engaged in wild sex for an entire night.

It was another move to test his reaction once more, needing to make sure once more he was in fact uncomfortable with the thought of him having her against her will. Laura caught the look of embarrassment on his face, he really was sincere about how put off he was by the entire affair of them having to fake their current relationship.

"Yes, uh, sorry." Julian said, blushing a bit at the suggestion that she had to again, look like he had ravished her for an entire night.

"It is acceptable, it is part of our arrangement and cover for now." Laura said, then went to work.

Julian quickly did his part building up a sweat as best he could with a fast workout and mussing his hair up like he'd been all over the place. Laura did a similar pattern, Julian kept his back to her like last time as she did so, always giving as much privacy as possible, but thought for a second she had been watching him build up his sweat.

They tossed the pillows aside, tossed a few condom wrappers around flushed the actual condoms down the toilet. Julian decided if asked why he actually disposed of them, he'll say he had Laura do it as part of her training to remind her of her place. Laura then began rubbing the sheets across the exposed parts of her body that featured the paint, letting the sweat on her skin help rub off some of the paint and smear it over herself and the sheets themselves. Laura then moved around a bit on the bed to ensure she had enough coverage to appear as if they had a very intense amount of coupling on the bed.

Laura then walked up to him and with the paint still on her fingers, rubbed some on his neck, added a bit next to his lip, his forehead and then ran some over his hands. It was back to the Arctic and Golf again, trying to think of anything that would erase the heat building up from Laura touching him in such a way. Julian had looked away when she had begun to do her effort to look as if he had been all over body in every way possible, but had lost the fight in his mind and pretended not to be too aroused by the display. Laura felt a bit of a strange arousal herself from the intimate contact with him, being that close to him while was still without his shirt, sweaty as she marked him up as having coupled with her repeatedly.

"Do I need to be fully chained or will the collar suffice?" Laura asked as Julian again felt flushed at the suggestion, but realized he would have to start conning Master soon about how the night went and composed himself.

"Just the collar, you shouldn't have to wear that stuff any more than you have to. He asks, I'll just say I like looking at your face when we do it and found the rest of the restraints got in the way when I wasn't giving you 'training'.. Do you want me to tell him to just bring you straight here or lose some of the restraints? I could tell him I find it gets in the way of things." Julian offered, then again mentally berated himself for complimenting her at all. He was pulled on his shirt and then picked up his jacket, making sure the scrambler was still on as he pocketed it.

"That would run against what you have stated before as your preference and you stated quite clearly at the beginning of the night you enjoyed my being presented like this. It could be suspect for your tastes to change so quickly as you have stated you are enjoying training me to serve your whims. I will endure the shackles as they are a necessary part of our cover. Perhaps at a future date you can say you find me to be perfectly docile and compliant and so such cumbersome restraints are more in the way than useful. But for now it is a necessary subterfuge. Try not to get hurt in doing what you must do, I would rather not have to become the property of someone else if you are killed.." Laura replied, reminding Julian they were hiding their own agenda right now and changing things too quickly would arouse suspicion. She had not intended to warn him against danger though, it had just come out.

"If you would please turn around and wait before you leave the room though, I must disrobe and I do not think it would be wise that I only undressed after you had me four times, if he asks how often you used me, say that so we do not give contradictory stories, I also gave you two blow jobs." Laura said as Julian first turned around, then his eyes went wide as she had her back to him.

"What?" Julian asked, as if she'd picked the number out of a hat.

"We were alone for close to fourteen hours, even accounting for a rest and you indulging yourself in training your slave, that is a lot of time open for physical coupling. You are a young man less than one year from his sexual peak. That should be easily believable, especially since you have explicitly stated how much you find my physical body sexually attractive." Laura said as she unzipped the back of her top and pulled it off, then lost her thong and stood there as yesterday just wearing her collar.

"I'll be back, I haven't failed yet. I won't let them do to you what they did to all the other girls." Julian said, trying to be reassuring, but was pretty sure he sounded corny and turned around and left the room. Laura lay herself down on the bed and tangled herself in the sheets and pretended to sleep.


	6. Waiting

Disclaimer: Writer not affiliated with Marvel in any way, shape or form, characters and original settings all belong to Marvel Comics. Just wanted to finally give these two a chance, been rooting for them since they met in New X-Men. Now let's all write Craig Kyle and Chris Yost and tell them to give these two a break in the comics, I think we can all agree they both deserve it!

Timeline Notes: M-Day has not happened in this timeline, nor did Laura/X-23 take part in joining the characters of NYX, but her personal timeline before NYX is intact. Claremont's X-Men run and by extension and the events in New X-Men have not involved Laura Kinney at all. Similarly, events that became possible by M-Day such as Civil War, Messiah Complex and Secret Invasion will not have occurred. (Mass mutant rebellion against Registration would have fielded advantage to the Anti-Registration side after all). Julian Keller has left the Xavier Institute approximately one year before the story takes place, but the Hellions Mini and his activity in New Mutants Volume 2 and New X-Men: Academy X have all taken place.

Character Notes: Estimating Julian to be 17 years old at the time of this and Laura to be about 16 years old given Comic timelines move in strange and mysterious ways and characters are suddenly younger and older for no reason. Maintaining Laura's tendency of not using contractions and slang when she talks as seen in New X-Men and X-Force. Also taking my best guess on Laura's personality in this time line and how it would evolve over time.

Note for "M" Label: Contains strong language, strong sexual themes with some graphic description in certain chapters with intermittent violence and some scenes of torture. Not for younger readers of course, but it's the internet and I doubt anyone's taking maturity labels seriously… Not all chapters will contain everything above, so relax, not a wall-to-wall smutfest.

Chapter Six:: Waiting

It was not long before King found Julian on his way out, no doubt curious to see how Julian liked his own private slave.

"Was the little Doll as enjoyable as you expected?" King asked as Julian tried to shift to his cockier personality, it was one he had worn all his life but of late, was feeling forced and empty.

"Very much so, very obedient and attentive, it seems she very much likes the idea of having her as my own little Doll to play with then anyone else getting to use her. The way you had her prepped for me last night, I don't think there was a point my life where I was nearly as turned on by the way you'd had her for me when I got there. That colour, the body paint, what she wore, her perfume, I was having trouble thinking straight when I got her inside and tried to figure out how to have her first. I just had to have her mask off right away, got her right in front of a mirror and asked if she liked being my little Doll and dressed up just for me, Next thing I know she's kneeling down and trying to get my pants off while she's still wearing all chained off and working hard to get them down, and then, well, I think she told me how she felt about belonging to me. It got just better after that. I tell you though, she's got some weird sexual fascination with me, and she just seems to want me on her every second we're in there. Had to give a couple lessons of course on restraint and following the rules, but she did learned pretty quickly. Julian bragged as confidently as he could brag about his fake sexual adventures with Laura.

"I had to say, I was concerned I'd actually have to send an Inducer in there to help keep her in the mood, it sometimes happens with the new girls, they need help to get used to their duty at first. Of course, I could include an Inducer in there tomorrow night, you wouldn't believe what you can get going when you have a girl like Bliss working both you and your little Doll at once." King offered with a knowing smile _I don't know what Miss Frost is probably going to do to you when I bring this place down, but I want to be there when she does it! _Julian thought to himself.

"I think I'll just keep things between me and her for now, I'm just getting started with showing her all the things she'll need to keep being my little Doll to play with. I think I'll save using an Inducer for when she's become more docile and obedient, I'll let one drive her all night while I have her as a special reward. With a night like that remind her there are perks to being my Doll. However as much as I hate to leave her now that I'm just getting started with her, I will probably not return tonight or the day after, my work is taking me away but I could return earlier or later. Thing is, I'd like her to be ready for me no matter when I get back without too much wait so while I'm sure you give her lessons as well to help make sure stays a good little Doll, I'd like to make sure she's ready for a nice long romp when I get back." Julian said, trying to work out some explanation of why he wouldn't want Laura tortured into an obedient little slave while he was gone

"I assure you sir, whatever is done with her will not impact her ability to perform. We take great pride in assuring that our girls are ready for our clients whenever they need them." King said as Julian again cursed the man in his hand left for the departure lounge to be teleported to his next job.

* * *

"Well done little Doll, I think you've ensured a client for life with what you're doing for me." Laura was jarred up suddenly as she felt her chain yank and saw King staring down at her. She emptied her mind, no distraction thoughts, just a blank skate.

"Seems your owner has to be away for a bit to work, so he can keep you as his pet, we'll have to make sure you want to stay his pet so he'll keep paying for you. How does that sound?" King asked as Laura knew she had to play along to his orders.

"Anything you wish my King." Laura submissively whispered..

"Excellent, respectful girls get better treatment. But we need to make sure that respect is genuine of course. You'll have to have another session with your playmates again pretty soon to make sure your owner keeps enjoying you. First things first, until I'm sure you understand your place, the little Doll doesn't go anywhere without her special toys, especially since we went to the effort of making them just for you. We can't just leave them lying around especially since you'll have to be ready to go whenever your owner decides he wants to have you again." King was smiling as he held up the hood.

Laura couldn't fight the revulsion this time and a smaller, less potent telepathic burst went off in her head. Not as bad as the last one, but it made it hard to think at all as she fell to her knees.

"None of that little Doll, you'll learn to love it yet." King said as he pulled the hood over her head, blackness taking her again as she felt shackles attached around her wrists and ankles.

"Now wait here, I'll have Angel Dust come and take you back to your room. If you behave with her and don't cause any trouble when Bliss and Pain give you your special training I'll tell her you can have the mask off until your master returns. If Bliss or Pain ask you a question and you do not give the right answer, it will be the same punishment." Laura was told, she was dragged off the bed and led on her hands and knees until she was told to stop.

"Kneel, head touching the floor until you are told you can move. Or Pain has you all to herself and you don't get to have that mask off for a week outside of your master's playroom. I'll also tell you him you were a disobedient little pet while you were gone and deserve extra punishment as well from him." Laura did as she was told and thought nothing.

"King has told me of your misbehaviour, you really shouldn't do this Doll. He really is much nicer to you when you start following all the rules and even has Bliss give you private sessions. I've had three with her this week because I made all my clients happy and helped make you such a pretty pet for your owner." Laura heard as she felt her collar being pulled on her leash once more, Angel Dust had come to offer her the carrot after Master had used the stick.

"He enjoyed having me last night the way I was prepared, thank you." Laura said in her submissive tone, seeing if Angel Dust would reveal anything further. It was hard to keep concentrating on it though, Angel Dust's pheromones were back, making her feel hazy and open to suggestion.

"I just did what King told me to do, when we follow his commands we all get lots of pleasure." Angel Dust said in her own soft, submissive tone as she led Laura along.

Laura took note of this despite Angel Dust's pheromones working to keep her unfocused and docile. Angel Dust was a Stockholm syndrome case, she had become allied with her jailors and would rather serve them then escape.

"I'll put you on the bed so you can rest, I am told Bliss will come and get you later so you can have more training so you can be ready for your owner when he comes back." Angel Dust said as Laura felt herself being guided down onto the small bed, her leash went slack, for now she would be allowed to rest it seemed.

Laura took advantage of this but it did not last long, she was barely into any kind of real rest cycle when she was jerked awake. She was being pulled harshly by her collar, it was Bliss, it was near the same application as force as the previous day.

"King said to make sure you're a good pet and you answer the questions you given correctly. He's concerned you might do something foolish and upset your new owner, King does hate it when his pets disappoint them." Bliss said as she was guided up off her bed and led along to what would be another conditioning session.

"King has also said he wants you to enjoy the feel of your shackles since he made them fixed especially for your and your master's enjoyment. So they are to be left on, so you'll be on the floor today while you get your lesson." Laura was told by Bliss as she was pushed down on to the cold floor, still naked.

Laura felt her leash being pulled up, she was forced to stay on her knees and keep herself from moving as the collar tightened a bit as it rose up with the leash, which she could feel being tied off to something.

"Now tell me, what's your name pet?" Laura was asked, she could feel two different grips on her shoulders, one was Bliss's hand, and the other was Pain's.

"Doll." Laura in her submissive voice she was hit with a pleasure pulse.

"Good now tell me, do you like being under your owner's control?" Bliss went with another question.

Laura noticed Pain didn't talk much she noticed in these sessions beyond the code word conditioning. It seemed Bliss was much more engaged in the process beyond just inflicting pain for disobedience.

"I love it, he gives me pleasure when I obey and behave as his loyal pet." Laura responded as she got another pleasure pulse _Just tell this sociopath what she wants to hear._

"Very good, would you like it if he asked other girls to come in and fuck him while you only were allowed to watch and beg for him to have you?" Bliss went on, testing to see just what she could get Laura to agree to without hesitation.

"Whatever he wants, I will serve. I am his Doll to use as he wants, when he wants and how he wants to. What is good for an owner is good for his pet." Laura responded quickly, it was not hard to figure out what she was supposed to say, albeit degrading as she was hit with a much stronger pleasure pulse.

"Excellent, two more questions now and you just might get to have that hood off tonight as a reward. If your owner tossed you aside and were told you were be a permanent S&M fuck toy for anyone who would want you would you enjoy it?" Bliss asked and Laura could not hesitate in answering.

"I would love to learn a new way to feel pleasure and serve new owners. When I obey, I get rewarded and get pleasure, I never get pleasure when I disobey." Laura managed to work out without any hesitation. Bliss ran another pulse through her, even more intense than last time.

"Alright, one more little Doll, if your owner brought me in with him on his next visit and told you I was going to fuck you while he watched, would you obey and enjoy it?" Bliss said, Laura had to make sure she didn't react to it. _Clear mind and you get the mask off for a while, it doesn't mean you'd do it._

"Yes I would, I am his little Doll to do with as he likes, and I'll always do what he thinks is best to train me or give him his pleasure or give me pleasure. If he told me I got to have Bliss give me her touch while he got pleasure from watching you have me I would be glad to obey." Laura said submissively but with a guarded fear, she was rocked by a pleasure pulse that left her breathless.

Laura hoped Bliss didn't proposition Julian the next time he arrived with what she had said. It would be suspicious behaviour for him to turn down an Inducer to enhance his sexual experience with his personal slave and could invite undue attention.

"Excellent Doll, we'll certainly have to ask your owner what he thinks about that the next time he's here. I hope he thinks about it, I could make you two feel so good during sex you'd forget you ever wanted to do anything besides fuck. I'd also join in, the three of us together would give your owner the night of his life. Tell him that if you really want to make him happy, tell him you'd like Bliss to make everything better for you and him." Bliss said as she was given one more intense pleasure pulse, then several more as she was rocked so quickly by Bliss's treatment she actually climaxed.

Laura felt herself kissed on the lips, she guessed it was Bliss by the interaction she had been giving her. Bliss had enough authority she did not fear the to-touch rule attached to Laura, or perhaps this was a secret test by King. Laura had been given a message to give to Julian, who she would either test her obedience by directly propositioning him when he next arrived. If that did not occur, Bliss would have King ask Julian asked if Bliss had truly offered her services for his and Laura's coupling using Laura as his messenger.

"Now, let's not forget why we're here though, you've understood why pleasure is so good and how you get it. Unfortunately you also need to remember when you don't get pleasure and why you feel pain sometimes." The conditioning returned to the same methods as before with no more actual questions or direct orders.

Bliss seemed to be taking some time off, with Pain giving some considerable negative reinforcement about the usual words such as stop, no, disobey, misbehave and escape. The only advantage for Laura was she could blot the pain out as Bliss seemed to be sitting out most of the session, leaving her body less confused and better able to resist Pain. Bliss finally returned and started whispering the submission words, Laura still found them difficult to ignore. Bliss was stimulating her with much more powerful sensations than usual, perhaps trying to sink her hooks in to take control of Laura through an addiction to her power.

Then it stopped, her leash was released from where it had been keeping her in position and while she felt relief to be done, she also started to feel hazy and compliant, Angel Dust was taking her back to rest and wait for Julian.

Laura counted off the requisite steps and allowed Angel Dust to guide her in and lay her down on the bed, the pleasant pheromones keeping her compliant with Angel Dust's gentle treatment of her, probably a hidden level of sympathy for a fellow new slave.

"Bliss said you were perfect for her Doll, that means you get your reward and get to have your mask off." Angel Dust said as Laura patiently waited and kept a submissive face on as it was taken off her head.

Angel Dust might have some sympathy but she was still an informant or she would never have been placed with her Laura knew. Angel Dust was her jailer as much as the others and would happily keep her drugged with her pheromones until she was broken. Angel Dust brought over a glass of water and gave it to her.

"Drink, you will need to stay ready for when your owner comes back for you. I would suggest rest as well, King said he might not return for some time and you will need all your strength for when he comes back. You would not want to disappoint him after he chose you to be his personal pet.." Angel Dust warned her as Laura drank the water greedily, she hadn't had anything to drink since she had eaten in Julian's room, how long ago had that been? Time was impossible to keep track of it seemed.

"Will I have more training before my owner returns?" Laura asked as she thought about enduring multiple sessions without Julian to give her a hidden refuge.

"That is up to King, but he will probably want to make sure you are perfectly responsive to your owner's wishes so he may have Bliss and Pain give you more training to make sure you stay good Doll. He said that it was very important that I help you stay good as well so he told me to make sure you feel very relaxed when you're here." Angel Dust said in a low voice, as if she was fearful he knew whatever happened when his name was mentioned.

Angel Dust was naked as well except for white stockings with garters that hung loose from them but she bore no restraints. Her hair was messy, her lipstick was faded and her nails needed to be redone. It appeared that after a slave was stripped or mostly stripped by her client, washing and clothing oneself were not permitted without permission. _Reinforcement, we are naked and helpless when we are without our clients, only after being told we are to serve a new one do we get to be clothed and walk around feeling not completely exposed._

Laura did feel very relaxed and that sleeping was a good idea, she was sure that was Angel Dust's pheromones taking over a bit but it seemed like a really good idea. Laura realized that she'd definitely have to do a better job of playing the docile slave so Angel Dust would stop leaving her feeling so hazy and could focus on gathering the information she needed to escape.

* * *

Time went by, she was given some food to eat, but it was soon followed by another session with Bliss and Purge, albeit for a shorter time, King apparently didn't want her too worn out in case Julian showed up to claim her. _Where the hell are you? How hard can it be to sabotage some stupid science project anyway? _Laura thought angrily of Julian when she was dumped unceremoniously back in her cell. There was a third session as well, again shorter than regular but not exactly a great comfort to her and the continually dazed state.

Angel Dust, Bliss and Pain had caused enough confusion that she found it difficult to focus at all and barely was able to gather any information in the time she spent between her conditioning sessions.

"Good news Doll, your owner called and he wants you ready as soon as possible." Angel Dust whispered as Laura woke from her bed to the sound.

Angel Dust took up her leash in an indication to follow and Laura did, the pheromones more reduced, as Laura would need to be more alert and focused for her preparation and her 'service' towards her owner. Angel Dust had a small key on a chain hanging around her neck and said King had entrusted her with Laura's key so she could be prepared for the evening. The shackles were taken off for the moment and placed in a bag while Angel Dust motioned for Laura to step into an unoccupied bath. Laura helped Angel Dust as she was told to, washing off the smeared body paint that still covered her body and face until she was completely clean of it.

Laura had now counted six of the hidden guards, Inducers all she could tell by their tone and outlook as she listened by each name called and spoken as someone who gave a lot of orders. Pain, Bliss, Mistress, Queen, Domina and Wish, they were giving the orders, always speaking on behalf of King or telling another slave that King had given an order to them. With their combined abilities Laura considered, was it possible they had become in charge by addicting King to their abilities? With what little she had experienced, she was certain given enough time she would develop either a physical or metal addiction to Bliss's influence if Julian could not rally support with the information she would help him obtain to free her.

It was also possible he would die on one of his assignments, or that he would never the help he needed, or if all else failed King would refuse to let Julian buy her from him. It was a rational fear to have under the circumstances, while trigger scent left her in a state where she did not know what she was doing until after it happened, this would be worse. Bliss would create an addiction where she would have to actively participate in whatever sexual acts and humiliation she was commanded to do to get herself more time with her.

Angel Dust led her to where two Exotics were waiting and said they had been told to help prepare Laura for her owner. They were not the ones from yesterday, the first one had long white feathery wings and Laura heard Angel Dust refer to her by name, Seraphim. This had been the one who had taken her to be presented to Julian on her first night to be offered to him as his slave. Seraphim and in fact all the girls near them seemed to be feeling a bit like Laura, very calm and willing to be compliant with orders. Angel Dust's pheromones were affecting everyone, Laura gathered that King (or the Inducers) liked keeping her around to make sure the slaves all kept calm while being told their duties. With her abilities, it was possible Angel Dust would be able to rise the ladder and gain power, since she had become a willing part of The Club since her brainwashing. Laura then heard the second Exotic's name, Golden and determined it was an accurate description. Golden was basically what her name indicated, she had bright gold skin and hair which shimmered under the light and even her eyes seemed to be solid constructs of gold with no visible pupils.

Angel Dust said it was best if she behaved as yesterday to make everything work well, Laura did not feel like arguing as Angel Dust continued to keep the area filled with pheromones meant to keep everyone in line. They prepared her body just as yesterday, makeup, perfume and a fresh covering of body paint in the same patterns as before, then she was given new fetish clothing for her owner/rescuer to enjoy.

The clothes were different but still just as demeaning, a small top of purple leather barely covering her breasts to just over her navel that had no sides or back, only straps that held it onto her chest while again, a thong barely covered her below. The cuffs were reattached, the collar fixed in place, Laura tried to control herself as the mask obliterated her vision again and it worked. It had to, Master was probably watching as she was quickly led off to meet her owner.

* * *

"Iron Man I coulda fucking dealt with, a fucking Minicarrier?" Julian mumbled to himself as he observed the situation.

A single superhero would have been easy, create a distraction, make him deal with it and blow away the rocket while it was in flight. A SHIELD Minicarrier was a different problem entirely. Julian swore as he watched the Roxon launch site through his binoculars, somehow, Roxon and Stark had managed to get SHIELD to guard the launch site to prevent against sabotage. He'd been scouting for what was supposed to be an easy job for a day beforehand and these jerks had just showed up out of nowhere. His parents had failed to mention this but again, they may not have known. Julian decided it was moot and he had to deal with the situation as it was. The Minicarrier wasn't exactly going to be able to catch him, the problem was whatever it had in it's hanger could if he didn't give them something else to think about. Mainly, a rocket exploding in mid air that would cover while he went full speed towards the ground and hugged it to save his life as he flew away.

He calmed himself down, he needed to get this right, while he had enough money to stay with the Club for at least ten more months, if he didn't get more work more often he'd have to start getting it in other ways. That was a lot more difficult, when he had started out, SHIELD had been disorganized and easy to avoid. Now they seemed to be back with a purpose and were out in force once more. His parents had already had to file court papers to keep SHIELD off their back about why corporate sabotage kept benefiting their company so well. He knew if Laura could not get the information he needed, he'd need a substantial amount of money to try and buy her freedom. That was more money than he had right now, if King could sell her, a self-healing 16-year old sex slave over the course of years at basically no risk, Julian would be hard-pressed for the cash to get her free.

Julian had a few options still, he had predicted an easy job, but the Minicarrier arriving in the last hour had complicated the matter and the rocket was about to launch, his basic plan was still intact though. Julian had suspected a problem, anything that required him to plan this fast to strike at always did. When his father's corporate spies had trouble finding out when and where Julian had to sabotage something there was always a problem waiting in the wings. So he had done the only sensible thing, prepare if there was going to be a problem with a giant distraction.

The fireworks launchers he had set up at the north, south, east and west of the base were there, he'd flown to Nevada to buy them and get back to the launch site in New Mexico. Julian was standing next to one of them, the others had a special green rocket that would partially simulate what his telekinetic field in flight could resemble.

The distance returning home is what bothered him, he would need to maintain a constant supersonic speed along the coast, flying barely ten feet off the water to evade anyone who followed him. Flying back across state lines twice and avoiding being followed until he hit the coast was problematic.

Julian had a remote timer set up on the fireworks to go off twenty seconds into the rocket's launch, he would use the distraction to fly up into the cloud cover with his telekinesis and avoid being visually identified as best he could. Julian would stop at about ten thousand feet, the air was a bit thin up there but a tiny object on radar screens at ten thousand feet would not be that easy to track either. Then it was simple, maximum acceleration, aiming the front of his telekinetic field with enough power behind it to behave like a battering ram. Julian had learned a lot about tactics during his time at the Institute, enough to win the Field Day exercises championship in his first year. Those tactics had served him well since there were times when the X-Men had to teach their students to behave in a more a stealthy manner when carrying out missions.

The launch occurred, Julian saw the rocket coming and timed his movement perfectly. The fireworks launchers released the biggest fireworks he could have bought and gave him his window. Moving as fast he could, Julian flew right up, keeping an eye on the altimeter he wore on his right arm during such missions. Five thousand, six thousand five hundred, eight thousand, ten thousand, the flight had barely taken any time at all and he was in perfect position for the next phase. Julian had noticed hover vehicles scrambling from the Minicarrier to examine the mass fireworks display but none had noticed his movement.

Julian watched the rocket fly up, it was getting close, he began channeling his telekinetic energy and preparing the ramming front of his field for when it was in range. Only a few seconds now, then he took off. He accelerated as quickly as he could, narrowing in on the payload portion of the rocket, his father had been quite adamant that the satellite be unsalvageable for even scrap metal.

The strike worked, Julian ripped right through the rocket and caused enough internal damage to cause the rocket's guidance systems to falter. The engines spurned out and the entire rocket started falling back down as quickly as it had risen up. The launch site had been cleared specifically to make sure a bad launch did not cause any casualties, Julian wasn't worried about it.

The Minicarrier was probably still reacting to the fireworks and now the falling rocket, if they had noticed his burst on their radar screens it didn't seem to follow so far. Now it was time to escape, Julian aimed himself right back down and went full speed for the ground, then changed his trajectory at the last second out towards the coast.

The flight home was uneventful, there were some freighters, yachts and other boats in the water as Julian skimmed the surface of the ocean while he headed back to California. Flying at maximum speed, he arrived back home in just under thirty minutes. Ever since that day at the Institute, his powers had expanded enough that he had spent much time refocusing and testing his abilities, flying at supersonic speed had never been possible before for him.

The routine when arriving home was simple, he called his father on his scrambled phone to tell them that the job was done. William Keller wanted to know if he had been seen or followed, Julian explained there might be some footage of a green blur that was it at most, no one had followed him that he knew of. He told his father that a SHIELD Minicarrier had been there, somehow Roxon had managed to get SHIELD to guard their launch site. Julian told his father he'd leave it to him to cover the company's tracks in finding out when the launch had been and to let him know when he needed his son to illegally enhance his company's revenues again. He didn't particularly enjoy having a hostile relationship with his family, but they kept using him for profit and he would use them back, it wasn't like he would ever earn his way back in to his parent's good graces.

Julian now wanted to focus on the one important thing he had left in his life. He called the Club and told them he'd like 'Doll' to be ready for him within the next two hours and to call him the moment she was ready. He hoped Laura had not been abused too much in his absence, and it pained him to think he was paying those bastards two million dollars a month and that still wasn't enough to keep her from being tortured.

Julian took some time to relax, seeing how many different objects he could move in his apartment at once with his telekinesis to keep trying to expand his powers. Who knew, if he pushed it enough, maybe he could actually bring down The Club on his own, not really possible but he had to try it out. His powers had stretched well beyond their old limits and he had to know just how far he could take them. The time went by, he had thirty minutes before pick up, and another cold shower seemed like a good idea right about then.

* * *

Julian had been teleported back to the place he had been sworn to destroy and forced to smile at the man he wanted to crush into a tenth of his former size.

"Ah, very good to see you back here, I trust your business went well?" There was King, always looking to play the good host and mentally probe the minds of his clients for information.

"Well enough to make sure I can keep Doll to myself for a good while longer, where is she?" Julian said looking around, usually they had her standing up front like a statue waiting for his arrival

"Right this way sir, the girls were just finishing helping prepare Doll for your return." King stepped to Julian's side and offered his hand in the direction of one of the corridors that would lead towards private suites.

"Two hours? I hope it's worth the time spent." Julian was tired of playing this game but he had to, but also hoped they had not gone any farther in branding her as property.

Julian was glad for that cold shower when he approached where they had her waiting for him. Laura was wearing a leather top that was barely even qualifying as a piece of clothing and had him thinking of what it just barely covered. The rest of Laura's appearance was as yesterday, although he thought he saw a less willful silent resistance in her poise.

"My room is ready?" Julian snapped, playing the irritable card some more.

"Of course sir, do you need anything else for tonight? Perhaps something to take your tension out on her? We could have something set up for you." King suggested, Julian thought about crushing the man's skull to the size of a peanut, but that would likely raise suspicion.

"I'll take her as is and as usual, no interruptions. I have a lot of stress to work out and Doll is going to help me get rid of every ounce of it." Julian rejected King's offer in a harsh tone.

Julian brushed past King, took Laura's leash away from the girl holding it out for him and got her away from there as fast he could while she was hobbled by her restraints.

* * *

They were inside his suite for barely less than ten seconds when they were nearly compromised.

"What took you so long!" Laura snapped, Julian swore under his breath and forced himself to slap her..

"Don't talk without permission!" Julian yelled, then took out his sweeper and again, took out the hidden surveillance.

"Nice move, you almost blew our cover!" Julian said angrily as he began pulling off her restraints, only to be greeted with a venomous stare.

"I know you want to give me one across the face back, go for it." Julian offered as he suddenly had the hardest slap of his life crease his face.

"Okay, I deserved that and probably a couple more but you almost ruined our cover with that. You know I have to disable the surveillance before anything else." Julian said as he rubbed the spot where she had slapped him.

Then realized he had just given her cart blanche to hurt him more, now with the psychic command bypassed with his permission. _Whatever, let her take her frustrations out on me a bit if it helps._

"You should not have left me for so long, just because I said I could endure the torture did not mean I readily embraced it. How could it take you so long to pull of a single act of sabotage?" Laura said angrily as she crossed her arms.

"I had to dodge a fucking SHIELD Minicarrier that was guarding the site and believe it not, taking out a rocket in flight is not something that's easy to do. They were watching everything that was going on, so I had to figure out how to destroy a rocket in mid-flight while not getting caught. Then I had to escape skimming the ocean at about nine feet while staying supersonic, so, pretty hard. Thanks for asking though." Julian shot back, the decided to cool off and backed away from her.

"Shirt." Laura said, nodding at him.

"Oh, right." Julian remembered as he removed his jacket and pulled off his shirt, offering her the jacket again, which she pulled on to cover herself.

"King is planning on whenever you get bored of me or run out of money, wants to make sure I am just as agreeable for whoever he sells me to next. He also wants to make sure I obey him completely, he thinks I am not doing as he says or he sees that I don't want to do something, he sends this telepathic burst into my head, hurts like a knife stabbing right into my skull." Laura said as she backed away from Julian, creating space to control the environment between them.

"Well the good news I have the next little bit off so, I told him I've had a very long couple of days so I'm just going to stay in here with you for a very long time or to take my mind off of things. Gives you time to practice that thought-masking stuff and if you've got any more info on this place, I can get that down and compare it against my information." Julian offered as a way of making it up to Laura, hoping she'd show a bit of approval, or maybe a smile.

Julian had not seen Laura smile since they had met and he bet she had a very nice one. _Not that she's got anything to smile about until I bring the X-Men here and get her out._

"Acceptable, but you had better order more food. Starving me a bit is another way of keeping me under control." Laura said as she went straight to the food cart and began relieving her nagging hunger.

They again shared a great of silence over the first seven hours. Laura worked on the psychic shielding techniques and Julian worked off of what she gave him of the rear areas to draw a better map of the Club.

Their situation did get awkward when Julian had to order for more food for them, Laura had not been kidding about her appetite. Julian had felt hungry as well, he hadn't had that much to eat lately, nerves before he did one of his jobs and the knowledge of The Club itself affected his appetite. The problem was now they had to put a performance for an outsider.

They had needed need to play their parts for an outside observer, which mean both of them getting into the usual acting part of their roles earlier than usual. Julian worked through a fast series of pushups and sit-ups to work up a sweat and Laura did similar, then she began wiping some of the body paint off of her body and rubbing it on to his to help sell it further. Julian spent that time thinking about baseball and the North Pole to prevent arousal. Julian removed his clothes entirely and put on a robe from the bathroom, he turned his back entirely to Laura as she stripped down to nothing and reattached her own restraints. Julian uncomfortably accepted the leash she placed in his hand from behind while he answered the door when there was knocking.

"Took you long enough." Julian said as the servant entered and noticed Laura kneeling on the floor with her head down.

"Don't even look at her worm, she's mine." Julian said sternly and as soon as the cart was inside, shoved the man back out roughly.

Julian and Laura had both noticed the use of a male servant to deliver, his room had always been stocked when he arrived, and he had not known who did it. It seemed which ever area of The Club had food prepared, the slaves were not permitted near it as King used others to deliver food and drinks to client's rooms. It was simple enough, the food would or would not appear for the slaves as if by King's divine will, they would have no idea where it actually came from. Julian half-expected another look of disgust for that single remark when he turned around with the key in hand to get Laura's collar off but immediately turned around again. He had forgotten Laura was naked, he'd not seen much of her front, but he had seen some of her very firm behind. He blushed quickly and stammered an apology as he reached behind himself offering the key to her and she quickly took it.

"I feel dirty." Julian said as he pulled his pants back, the turned his back as Laura dressed, again, trying his best not to ogle her naked, or even her near-naked form.

"You were forced to maintain the act for twenty seconds, try over twenty days or so continuously." Laura remarked, she had to keep testing him and keeping him on the defensive, making sure he was not deceiving her and kept him feeling off-balance.

Julian looked away embarrassed at his remark. _Good, still showing shame about this entire affair, the more control I can exert here, the more I can keep the flow of information from involving my past._

"The good news is I think I am progressing with the thought-masking. I believe with four or five more average visits from you, I can reasonably guard my mind and collect intelligence more effectively. For new information, I have so far noticed that my cellmate Angel Dust is certainly a prisoner but also an accomplice, she's using her pheromone control to keep me under control when I am with her. When I am taken to the bath house to prepare, from what I have observed so far, so are nearly all the Exotics and shape shifters are prisoners here. I've so far counted nearly all Inducers I see being part of a special group, who I've termed Elites for their power and position. Domina, Wish, Bliss, Queen, Pain and Mistress are certainly in their ranks from the way I have seen them behave. It is like a private clique they have built for those with their type of mutant ability. Angel Dust is the exception as her powers are similar to an Inducer's, they would give her incredible power were she among the Elites." Laura decided she might as well appear positive about her condition.

Laura had noticed that Julian might be unstable enough to try and attempt a rescue attempt regardless of the odds. It was a common trait in someone that suffered psychological trauma to have bouts of irrational or even self-harming behaviour. If she appeared positive, it might assuage his fears of her being broken before he could effectively collect enough intelligence for The Club to be liberated by the X-Men.

"Just Inducers? I think you were right before about them having King hooked to their powers. It makes sense, I don't know how long this place has been here but if they gave him a lot a day, it would be just like the guy was doing cocaine or something." Julian noted that, it made sense, Inducers had worked their hooks into him pretty well a few nights.

Julian remembered a few incidents where he actually spent six entire hours getting a treatment and further than that. When with an Inducer just didn't seem a bad idea for having a few more touches from someone like Wish or Bliss. Mistress had looked him over a couple of times but he'd never said anything to her, the woman's eyes and poise scared him too much, it was like staring into the eyes of a pure sadist.

"It would explain their nearly exclusive authority, while it is part of their duties to break and condition new slaves, they wield seemingly too much power without having a strong influence over King. I suspect they may move Angel Dust into their ranks as they might consider her abilities as one of them, she has the ability to induce sexual attraction between herself and anyone around her, including females. The Inducers may also consider her a threat if she is that potent to making others submissive with her abilities and may keep her a low-ranking slave to ensure their position. I do think I saw a shape shifter seemingly immune to their authority on earlier today in the bath house, but I can not be certain. I was being guarded to make sure my observations were not noticed. With my low position and the careful observation on my behaviour, it is difficult to collect information as much as I wish. I am also in the position that with the first sign of disobedience, I am forced to wear the hood until I have pleased my captors enough to 'reward' me by removing it." Laura continued her report on Club operations, Julian was writing the notes down quickly in shorthand he had worked out during his time at The Club before he'd met Laura. If dropped and asked, it had something to do with his work.

Julian's face contorted in anger at mention of Laura being forced to wear the hood when he was not around because she did not behave like a drone. Julian was about to try and say something about having that fixed when Laura cut him off.

"It is not something you could change without bringing about suspicion and you should know that. They are using it to take away my sense of identity much like the way I have had my appearance altered specifically because I was made your slave. It is helping that we have this arrangement so that it is easier for me to maintain a sense of identity. I do not know how long I will be able to maintain my sense of self with the torture if I am here for more than three additional weeks. While I suspect I have a far more resilient mind that anyone that The Club has previously abducted, they have the luxury of time while you and I must work in haste to plan an escape. My only recourse now is to play the obedient slave so that the restrictions around me slacken and I am able to collect the information you need." Laura continued, analyzing the breakdown methods now that she was away from them and informing Julian of how long she could reliably fight her conditioning.

"If it's getting too bad, we can call it quits. I don't care if I have to give them everything I have, I can at least get you out before they ruin you." Julian said, again considering what it would cost to get Laura released when he paid two million dollars a month just to have her to himself.

"That would be highly inadvisable, you should only consider that an emergency situation if you can not convince the X-Men to help and can secure no other form of assistance. You might be discovered for your intentions on the spot or King would perhaps conduct a massive intrusion of my mind to find out why I knew you wanted to buy me from him. I can resist for now and I have dealt with many troubling things in the past, this for the moment will not destroy my mind as of yet. You should be collecting all data I give you and consider secondary plans in case the X-Men are unwilling to assist us. Is there anyone else you believe could help you in this effort?" Laura asked, since Julian seemed so concerned that he might not be able to secure help for a rescue, there had to be some other source of assistance.

"If this was pure slavery, I'd probably get more help but a lot of people still see mutants as something to be wiped off the bottom of their shoes or put in a bunch of concentration camps. Mutants are our only chance and a mutant group like the one King runs are a lot more common than the kind that helps us out. I could try to hire one of the others but they'd probably just look to take this place over rather than just set you all free. X-Men I think are our only real chance. Avengers, Fantastic Four and the others are always in the middle of some crisis or off in space and since I don't actually know where The Club is so that complicates it. I can't just go to other countries and ask their superheroes for help, I am nobody by their standards and possibly a criminal if they check my abilities against a couple of INTERPOL reports about a mutant corporate saboteur." Julian dismissed the idea regretfully, it was bothersome to know the only people he could count on to help him did not want to see him ever again.

"With some more time, I will be able to make this thought masking work more effectively and keep my thoughts seemingly innocent while I gather intelligence. You are still confident with the proper inside information you can make an effective rescue attempt?" Laura asked as she grew concerned about Julian's ability to actually assist her.

"I'm not really good at making plans for something this big but the school has some big brains for this stuff and they could make a rescue happen." Julian said, thinking of new ways to end this nightmare he'd been caught, whatever it would take to get Laura free before they broke her.

"You should sleep, you've been up since you arrived and you have been visibly tired since you arrived, does using your powers tax you excessively?" Laura said noting that Julian was notably exhausted.

It was a probing question, if he led a rescue attempt and he wore himself out in the effort, it would be easy for her to slip away if he was not able to recover his strength. Laura did not like looking for weakness in her apparent liberator, it didn't feel right on some level but she had to plan for her own future freedom.

"I really had to push it when I did the job earlier. Going supersonic and keeping it up that long isn't easy. If you're okay with my sleeping while you work fine, but wake me if you want me to order more food or need to ask me something or remember some other details." Julian offered as he once more tried to get comfortable in the chair facing the bed and then fell asleep.

Laura continued to focus on her practice with her telepathy shielding but found it hard to adapt to. It was not simple to suddenly separate her thought processes in to two separate patterns when she had been taught by The Facility to only focus on one objective at a time. Laura did have an adaptive learning process to learn new skills quickly, but this was likely going to take more time than she would prefer if she wanted to more easily gather information. After three more hours, Laura decided to sleep and lay down on the bed for a while.

They both slept for a long time, Julian's extensive use of his powers had taxed him considerably and Laura was fighting a major loss of sleep from her treatment outside her refuge with Julian.

Julian awoke twice while he tried to sleep with different dreams shaking him. The first nightmare recreated his last day as a junior X-Man and had him splashing cold water on his face while he stared at his tattoo. The second dream was much more arousing, he found himself in bed with Laura, them both naked and in the middle of having sex. It shocked him enough to wake him with a start. _Don't think about, not happening, stupid to fantasize about and childish, you're here to save her and never, ever touch her. _

Laura dreamt that at she was in The Club, Julian was there in the room with her but he was not her rescuer now. He was naked and Kimura was naked and hanging on to him like they were lovers, Laura looked down and found herself exposed as well, this was the worst nightmare since she arrived. Kimura grabbed her and pinned her down as Julian attached restraints to her and pulled on her hood with a malevolent grin on his face. Laura felt herself being dragged on to the bed as she was then forced into a series of the most self-debasing sexual acts Laura could unfortunately imagine since her own mind was doing this to her. Laura then had her hood taken off and watched as Julian had Kimura right in front of her, then was told that if she wanted to avoid any more punishment, she herself would have to willingly have sex with Kimura. Laura awoke just as the demand was made of her, she was in a cold sweat and her heart was practically pounding out of her chest. She looked around and saw that her panicked reaction had caught Julian's attention, who had awakened from his sleep earlier. Laura scanned his eyes and expression, no malevolence there, only concern to what had shook her so badly. _A nightmare, my mind is going to dark places because of the risk of never escaping and that this could all be an elaborate game for him to break me. _Laura calmed herself, Kimura was not there, her mind had just created the worst-case scenario based on her fears and mixed in the nature of her expected service to The Club to enhance it.

"Bad dream?" Julian asked concerned, he was worried The Club was affecting Laura in ways she had not considered.

"Something from my past… It mixed with the idea of this place, I would rather not mention it again. I will be fine, we should check your information against what I have learned to make sure there are no missing gaps in what I have given you. With respect, you are somewhat of an amateur to this kind of work." Laura dismissed his concerns and decided to focus on her rescue again, perhaps if things looked better, she would dream of an escape.

"Sure, you want to go over the guards, layout, informers, Elites or King first?" Julian agreed, she did seem better at the information gathering part so he agreed to follow her lead on it.

Julian decided it was better to respect her privacy to keep her trust, whatever she had done in her past, Julian could not hold it against her. People had died because of his mistakes, Julian doubted anything in her past could equal what he had done. It didn't seem possible; she was a year younger than him and seemed far more in control than he was at times. The thought that he'd found someone who had gone through worse than he did and then been abducted as a sex slave seemed impossible, fate couldn't be that cruel to anyone, even mutants.

They went over the information and made sure Julian had all important and semi-important details committed to paper. Laura corrected some of his drawings of her description of the slave quarters areas and suggested some new notation points for his shorthand to improve legibility and coherency. Julian now had some details of the guard details in the slave quarters, it seemed to comprise a dozen guards, almost all humans from Laura's estimates which made sense. King had his slaves strictly under control with his psychic commands and the Inducers always present, so a guard's sole responsibility was to catch a girl who might try and run off when told to do something unpleasant and suddenly had a feeling of rebellion within her. The guards were there to catch the girls then take them back for punishment, hardly requiring powerful mutants. Julian knew that for the large main lounge where clients would choose one or more slaves to serve them there were always eight guards there. Julian suspected and Laura agreed that at least half had to be mutants in case of a rowdy, superpowered client. Switch couldn't be everywhere so someone had to be ready before too much damage was caused or the 'merchandise' was hurt.

* * *

"You should go now, we have been here for over twenty hours now and by any separation of activities we might have engaged in, that is a very long time." Laura told Julian, it was one of the few times she was able to keep track of time and she had to do so because Julian sometimes seemed distracted by wanting to keep her out of harm's way.,

"So basically you mean we've spent almost too long pretending to have sex and my sleeping off two bad days?" Julian remarked, he didn't mean to be sarcastic but her logical tone towards everything they did or pretended to do was annoying at times.

"Yes, that would be a more direct way of stating the issue. Since it is now the same time as you arrived yesterday, you should wait at least another day before returning to arouse suspicion. A return at this time tomorrow will not be suspect though, as since you have continued to impress on King, you are highly infatuated with my body and my sexual prowess." Laura acknowledged what he said and noted Julian did have a certain edge to him when bothered by things, whether in his control or outside of them.

Laura suspected that Julian used to be in a much more confident position of some kind of power, if he was once a student of the Institute, perhaps he had been responsible for a group of students. It would be useful to know if his leaving the Institute had been his abusing his authority over them in some way that left to his expulsion. Laura also had to determine when he could safely return and not arouse suspicion, a full day for him outside of The Club would suffice and give her a welcome respite.

"If you say so, I'll make sure I am back tomorrow. I will not allow them to get their hooks into you any further than they have if I can help it." Julian said in a more confident tone, he wanted to sound confident but he also had to be 'in character' as he was leaving.

"I trust you to return as I have requested. I believe with several more nights to study this material and practice I am confidently sure I can have this technique mastered. Then we can carry out the necessary work so I can escape." Laura tried reassuring Julian, letting him know she trusted him to do all he could to help her escape.

It would probably be necessary for her to do this often Laura suspected, his emotional state that could become erratic depending upon the situation would need to be carefully monitored. If she could keep him confident and stable about the state of their rescue plans, it would help. The problem was Laura had little experience with such matters so it would be hard to be able to console him if he suffered any kind of significant breakdown if he thought the plan would fall part.

"Also, Bliss gave me an order to ask you if you would like to have her involved in our next session, if you see King, it would be wise to make mention of it. I would prefer you say you don't feel like adding a third partner to our coupling for now or reward me too much with having an Inducer involved with what we do." Laura added, nearly forgetting the thought, although she suspected it was because she had also been trying to forget it a little.

"I think I can manage that, I don't think we really need an audience in here." Julian nodded to Laura's suggestion and shuddered at what might come of having a third person in the room, what would they have to do keep their cover? _Not that, she doesn't deserve this and it could start really hurting her, wearing her mind down so they do take control of her! _Julian worried about what would happen if somehow they did have to have sex to maintain cover, even if Laura consented to it, it was the worst thing he could imagine himself doing.

Julian reluctantly dressed himself, hating the thought of leaving Laura to the mercy of King and her torturers. He once again thought about just throwing caution to the wind and engaging a vain rescue attempt of Laura but he reminded himself, it couldn't just be about her. He found himself wanting to save her above all others because he now knew her and didn't want to see her broken like the other girls, but that was selfish. Being selfish and saving her and leaving over a hundred girls to suffer in a living hell was not heroic, it was the kind of thing that spoiled heroism. Julian would have to wait, as much as it pained him to leave Laura as she was. There were still conflicting issues within him though, Julian just didn't want to help her escape, and he wanted to know more about her now. She was very mysterious and seemed to have some kind of training to use her powers and training to resist torture and plan escapes. He had not pressed Laura on her past, nor would he unless she volunteered the information though. This wasn't her first time as some kind of prisoner the way she behaved, she seemed to know what was coming and how she would be broken. _Did someone take her as a child? They do it with mutants a lot, but with a little girl? She would've had to have been taken that young to seem as emotionally cut off as she is and guarded about everything. _

They did the usual rituals of messing the place up, Julian even scattered some other bondage tools from the cabinet in the room to make it look like they'd been very _creative _for their time together. Condoms were flushed, fake semen spread around, Julian made sure it was random and made it look like they'd had sex over half the suite. Laura reattached her collar and lay on the bed, seemingly as if Julian had worn her out completely from what they had done and he'd kept his back while she disrobed.

"I know I have to go but I want to say it one more time, sorry I can't stay here and keep you away from them." Julian said reluctantly as his hand rested on the doorhandle.

"Thank you, I know you are doing your best to help." Laura responded, it did feel rather comforting to know she was not being used, but rather she was getting help for once.

Julian left, Laura pretended to be asleep and worn out from what she and Julian were supposedly doing. Laura privately thought about why Julian seemed so dead-set to rescue her, it was possible he had done something terrible during acquiring the injuries and was trying to make some kind of recompense for it. He had angered the X-Men with what was probably a selfish or destructive act that may have hurt or killed others and desperately wanted to find his own redemption.


	7. Trespass

Disclaimer: Writer not affiliated with Marvel in any way, shape or form, characters and original settings all belong to Marvel Comics. Just wanted to finally give these two a chance, been rooting for them since they met in New X-Men. Now let's all write Craig Kyle and Chris Yost and tell them to give these two a break in the comics, I think we can all agree they both deserve it!

Timeline Notes: M-Day has not happened in this timeline, nor did Laura/X-23 take part in joining the characters of NYX, but her personal timeline before NYX is intact. Claremont's X-Men run and by extension and the events in New X-Men have not involved Laura Kinney at all. Similarly, events that became possible by M-Day such as Civil War, Messiah Complex and Secret Invasion will not have occurred. (Mass mutant rebellion against Registration would have fielded advantage to the Anti-Registration side after all). Julian Keller has left the Xavier Institute approximately one year before the story takes place, but the Hellions Mini and his activity in New Mutants Volume 2 and New X-Men: Academy X have all taken place.

Character Notes: Estimating Julian to be 17 years old at the time of this and Laura to be about 16 years old given Comic timelines move in strange and mysterious ways and characters are suddenly younger and older for no reason. Maintaining Laura's tendency of not using contractions and slang when she talks as seen in New X-Men and X-Force. Also taking my best guess on Laura's personality in this time line and how it would evolve over time.

Note for "M" Label: Contains strong language, strong sexual themes with some graphic description in certain chapters with intermittent violence and some scenes of torture. Not for younger readers of course, but it's the internet and I doubt anyone's taking maturity labels seriously… Not all chapters will contain everything above, so relax, not a wall-to-wall smut fest.

Chapter Seven: Trespass

Julian had left Laura on his third visit with her, engaged in some banal conversation with King, bragging about Laura's subservience to him and his own prowess at making her obey him. Julian also had to make sure he knew about Bliss's offer, but stated as Laura suggested, he was still getting Laura to observe all his wishes and he didn't feel it quite time yet to reward her with having an Inducer enhance her pleasure. Julian wanted to make Laura completely submissive to his wishes by himself, it was more 'fun' that way. It was becoming mostly routine and Julian wondered if he was going to have to start writing himself a daily script for every visit he made to The Club from now.

Laura was in her usual position when King came to inspect how she had done, she kept her mind blank and he seemed pleased with the state of the room and Laura's obedience. It did not excuse her from her next conditioning session, but the hood stayed off, although she still wore her collar and shackles everywhere. It was her routine as she attempted to collect information that would buy her freedom, although it was not getting easy. She was not finding she could build any noticeable tolerance to Angel Dust's pheromones nor Bliss's treatments, though at least for the moment they were not affecting her overall mental health.

Laura and Julian would see each other again over the next five days with almost no issues, Laura would be able to actually eat and rest and fortify her mind. Laura exchanged fresh information with Julian, who took careful notes with her assistance and both took time to sleep. It had all been going so well until the next night they met.

* * *

_Shit shit shit shit shit… _Julian thought to himself as he frantically checked his pockets, it was gone, his scrambler was gone and he had just arrived at The Club, he hadn't realized the gravity of his error until that moment.

With his parents not having too much competition to deal with after his scuttling of the Stark-Roxon rocket, he had plenty of time to visit The Club and keep Laura away from her torturers. Five days went by without the slightest hiccup, they had a routine and he respected her modesty and kept his distance as well. He'd bought a trench coat to wear on his visits, which Laura could then wear, to feel less exposed and to personally help him so he didn't have to see what she wore under it, or what it left exposed. He kept his shirt off as she asked, although he still suspected, albeit he thought his mind was playing tricks on him in that department that she occasionally looked at him without his shirt on.

Laura would have new information, extra details about the facility, the estimated size of the slave quarters, names and descriptions of another mutant she suspected to be what she termed the Elites. Laura had told him from what she could gather, the Inducers had come to The Club either willingly, or had been abducted and then offered the power, since their abilities did not require them to engage in sex acts to entertain clients. They had either joined them or been broken down first, but managed to regain their status, the Inducers seemed to have a particular influence even over the male guards. Laura was almost certain now they had managed to make King addicted to their abilities to wield their power. Laura also noted that two other of the girls seemed to be 'elites' as well, a shape shifter called Mirage and an Exotic called Ruby, whose skin, hair and even her eyes were pure ruby-coloured with no irises. There were mutants with similar mutations to Ruby, but only she had risen to the top, it was possible they had been elevated to their position for serving King personally or the Elites had arranged it. The Inducers wanted to have other types of mutants in their small group to more easily establish authority and keep the other slaves hopeful of rising up and therefore doing whatever was asked of them. Laura also noted that Angel Dust seemed to be favoured by the Inducers and guessed by her powers, the Inducers thought her one of them and planned to add her to the Elites to once again, either help influence King or outright control him at times. Laura had so far counted over eighty separate slaves and suspected there were more she had not accounted for.

Julian had managed with her help to work out a much better idea of the slave quarters, their adjoining areas and how much distance between them and the client areas. The area Laura described for him roughly doubled his estimate on the size of The Club and Laura had once initial insight. Laura determined The Club was underground, based on the dispersal of air vents and the overall layout, it reflected that off an underground bunker, but heavily modified for the Club's purposes. The information that Laura had so far collected had left Julian feeling optimistic, at least he didn't have to worry that they were in some interdimensional space or five hundred feet below water. The club had to have surface exit, if only in case something happened to the teleporters King used.

They would share information, Laura would practice her thought masking and Julian would leave her be and think up new ways to convince the X-Men to help him. Julian also spent time working on another way to secure her release without their help, but nothing seemed workable. A couple of times Laura decided to take a dip in the Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom and just relax, it felt very nice to let the jets massage her body and forget where she was. Then when he had to go, they would tear the room up and leave a trail of evidence like they would spend the night as an owner and slave would. Julian always respectfully kept his back to her when she undressed and never dared take a look at her naked body, less he make her think he was planning to use her in some way.

Then the accident had happened, he'd been out flying and trying to unwind when he ran into that damned SHIELD Helicarrier, or nearly ran into it. He had probably been flying faster than he should have, but he didn't exactly wear a speedometer and just had to guess how fast by how long he took to go from point A to point B. Then he came through a cloud and there it was, he had to veer right very quickly and got so spooked when a set of flying cars suddenly left the side of the Helicarrier he was flying along and he almost hit them, he panicked and lost control of his telekinetic field for a moment and fell. It had been during that fall he guessed that he had lost his scrambler, it seemed the only logical explanation of where it had gone. He had restored his field for flight rather quickly and sped off quickly through the clouds, then he tore straight down until he was flying only few feet off the ground in case he was going to be detained for having a near-miss with a SHIELD Helicarrier. If they did send anything after him, he lost them quickly enough when he finished flying over a forest canopy and then landing and dodging inside a McDonalds.

He had made his mistake but he was also in a bind because he now had to find an excuse to why he couldn't do what he had to pretend he wanted to do. There she was, Laura was right in front of him, masked, chained, painted and barely clothed for his benefit, it was a purple bustier and thong with purple stockings with attached garters. It would have been very hard not to stare but he had too since he was in front of King and playing his part.

He had to appear confident and he was wasn't doing well at the moment, while he tried to figure out an alternative, maybe King had stopped trying to tape him in the act, maybe he could find the cameras and cover them _not likely, probably so small I wouldn't see them if I looked right at them. Shit, what do I do? Say I've changed my mind? Not in the mood? Urgent business call? FUCK, THINK! _All the while, buzzing his TK as an extra precaution in that moment, he couldn't be quite sure how well the psi-blocker was working. The problem was, he wondered how long Laura would be able to keep Kin out, she had to be anticipating this and King was likely listening in to what she was thinking at the moment. He made his decision, he'd have to say he had a received an emergency message just as he was teleporting and he had to get back to deal with the problem immediately.

"I'm sorry to say this, but I think you got my little Doll dressed up for nothing. I got a call just as you teleported me in here. Business can't wait, someone needs something urgently and I am rather a unique agent." Julian said, trying to be cool while he looked Laura over appraisingly then turned away and started walking back towards the departure lounge.

"Ah of course, we could leave her as is in your room if you think could resolve this matter quickly, do you think that would be possible?" Master asked after him, ever the opportunist with his clients.

"I think that would work. I'll call within the hour if you should just put her back as she was." Julian said, he would know within the next hour if he could get what he needed.

* * *

Julian got what he needed, it cost him twice as much as the first one he had bought because he'd needed one right that second. It was similar to the one he had before, a bit bigger but still easily carried, probably just an older model. There wasn't time to wait around for a better one to be found or hunt for another supplier who could give him what needed. Julian did say if he could have two more available as backup pieces, he would pay very well tomorrow. Julian didn't want Laura to be tortured for another day while he found a better one and was without her respite from her 'conditioning'. He had to take the chance, she probably wouldn't forgive him if he explained it was his carelessness that got her another round of torture.

He called for his teleport and returned, marched straight back to his room where Laura had been put down on the floor and forced to kneel with her head touching the ground, still shackled and hooded. Julian quickly got the restraints off of her as he kept saying sorry about taking so long come back.

"Why did you have to leave?" Laura asked as Julian examined his scrambler again, it seemed to be working properly and it would warn him if there was a problem.

"Long story short, went flying to try and clear my head, ran into SHIELD Helicarrier by accident, lost my concentration and fell, so I lost the scrambler. It cost me more than most people make in a year to get this one." Julian said as he examined the scrambler one more time, than pocketed it

Laura eyed him suspiciously at his explanation than shrugged it off. Julian was far too honest, or so she had found when it came to explaining himself to suddenly lie to her as to why he'd lost the device. She also knew it was important that he actually try to keep a clear mind, the situation they were in continually troubled him so he needed some respite so he did not become unreliable. Laura then went to work practicing her new form of psychic defense.

Everything was going fine, until Julian heard the quiet beeping. Julian found it was his scrambler and panicked, it was officially the worst piece of bad luck in his entire life.

"What is wrong Julian?" Laura asked as she looked up, hearing the sound as well.

"I think it's about to stop working, the bastard sold me one with a shit fucking battery!" Julian said as he examined the scrambler and noticed the battery warning. His good one had been able to run consistently for days straight with no need to recharge it, this one had worn out in about forty minutes.

"Strip." Laura said as she quickly stripped off her own clothes, then took them and threw them around the stripper pole, to make it look like he'd had her give him a private dance.

"What?" Julian asked, then realized what she meant, in a few minutes, the camera was going to come back and they'd look awfully chaste for a man and his sex slave.

"We are going to have to physically couple to maintain our cover, unless you are prepared to break me out of here in the next ten seconds or have a plausible explanation of how you noticed a low battery warning while you were coupling with me while we wore all our clothes." Laura said as she reached down to the floor and reattached her collar.

"No, there's got to be something else we can do…" Julian started, but Laura looked him right in the eye with a very commanding stare.

"There are a lot of things I had to do to survive even before I was brought here, this will not harm me any worse than what I have done before today. All you have to do is follow through on those feelings you have had towards my body since you first saw me. I know you look at me when you think I do not notice and that you are find it very hard to control your sexual attraction towards me sometimes. I will play the obedient sex slave and you just do what you have to do, or tell me what you want me to do. However if you try anything really over the top and we make it through this, I will inflict serious harm on you." Laura snapped at him, telling him what they would have to do get through the night.

Julian felt troubled, but he realized it could go a lot worse for both of them if they didn't go through with this. He sighed, he'd wanted her physically since he'd seen her, but he knew this was a betrayal of what he'd try to do for her since the start. He took off his sneakers, socks, pants and underwear and discarded them around the chair near the dancing pole, then brought his shirt and jacket over and left them there as well.

"Two minutes, bed, floor, wall, Jacuzzi, or something else?" Laura asked as she kept her mental countdown of the timer she'd seen on the scrambler's warning indicator.

"Bed." Julian replied, reluctantly pulling off his boxer shorts as he watched her walk towards the bed, silently pulling her leash along and then left it hanging from one of the hooks.

"What position? What is natural for you?" Laura asked, Julian couldn't help but blush.

"Uhh, top." Julian stammered out as she lay herself down on the bed.

"Condom." Laura snapped, Julian nearly stumbled over going to the nearby table with the vast array of condoms laid out on it and quickly put one on. The thought of them actually having sex had already had him at 'full attention'.

"Remember, I am Doll, or pet, or anything like that, you call my name out and we will be undone. Try not to look confused if I call you master or anything, we either sell this or I will quickly become used by half the clientele here for a number of things you do not even want to think about. You could likely be killed if King takes the time to break through your telekinetic interference and psi-blocker and find out what you are really here for. Even if he can not easily break through your mind, he will break through mine to find what he needs." Laura said as she grabbed him and pulled him down on top of her.

"I'm sorry, this is all my fault." Julian said, then Laura grabbed his face.

"It is and you should have been more prepared for a situation like this but that doesn't matter. Now do it now or you're dead and I'm finished!" Laura snapped at him again and reminded him they were out of time.

Julian looked at her and took her advice, he let his hormones and natural impulses do the work. He started riding her as quickly as he could, the faster he could get it over with the better, Laura kept a docile look on her face, accepting what was happening, then arced her neck back and playing her part as she made herself look as if she was going wild with the sensation, including a few screams that almost made him stop. Julian kept going, trying to end this shameful act as fast as he could. He hit his peak and stopped, pushed himself off of her and rolled over, but his own body betrayed him in a few minutes. He felt himself aroused again, being this close to a naked Laura, when he had permission was driving his body crazy.

Laura seemed to notice and learned over, the rustle of her chain heard as she smiled with a docile look on her face like she was looking forward to more. She grabbed another condom, replaced the one covering his member and straddled him. To say he'd not dreamed of this would be a lie, especially when she grabbed his hands and brought them over to cover her breasts.

Laura silently cursed Julian's overcharged libido as she guided his hands down her chest and back to her breasts again, Julian responded this time and began to caress her breasts while she rode him. She threw in her moans again, nothing she hadn't learned from her earlier work on the street and it was a performance, and she had to appear like she was enjoying herself. Surprisingly, Laura felt her own climax building, she hadn't even thought about such a thing during this, the idea had been simple, copulate as quickly as possible so they could pass out tired or appear to pass out tired. Laura did feel somewhat attracted to Julian, he was physically attractive and he just seemed to stir something within her. The sensation kept building and Laura was soon moaning for real as she felt a release, and then noticed the stupid look on Julian's face as he had another one _he's been wanting this since he saw me, wonder if he planned this._ Laura thought, and then decided to ask him later, when she could measure his heart rate and see if he was lying. It seemed doubtful, he had seem far too ashamed of what was about to happen, far too apologetic and far too disgusted at what she was forced into to ever consider it.

It didn't end either on the second time, Julian felt arousal a third time after lying on the bed for about fifteen minutes, really wishing he would fall asleep. Julian reminded himself if he made it through this, he would definitely need to a way to work off some tension before he showed up. Bottling it up since he'd met her had probably just made her hate him more than anything right now having to go through with it once more.

Laura noticed this and forced herself to get up, smiling at him invitingly as she quickly replaced the condom once more for him then got on all fours and turned around, offering herself once again. _Please God, let this be the end, or she's going to kick my balls into my throat the next time I see her! _Julian thought as got on his knees and then started again for the third time. This time thankfully ended quicker, he was sure that Laura was thinking of something painful to do to him every time she let off one of her fake moans.

He was worn out and thankful he wasn't getting another erection, he smiled at Laura, complimented her on being a good Doll, took her leash off the hook and told her she could rest now. He rested his head on the pillow as did Laura and quickly fell asleep, but when he dreamed it was about what they just did. Laura fell asleep as well, her dream was a bit different, she was actually wearing clothes and so was Julian but they were just lying in bed together, he held her very close, promised she would be safe, Laura found it very comforting.

* * *

He awoke later and found his and Laura's naked bodies were pressed rather closely together, that was not how they had fallen asleep last night. Last night was something he remembered, but he had definitely not remembered having her breasts resting right against his chest, nor her legs tangled with his when he fell asleep, they had obviously gotten closer when they were asleep. He looked himself over, he had some smears of her body paint on various points of his from the friction of their bodies and sweat taking some of it onto himself. Julian forced himself to smile for whatever cameras were watching at that moment. He casually looked at Laura's naked body and traced his fingers along her naked skin as if enjoying his 'property'. Julian wasn't sure whether he was just playing his part, or if he just really wanted to feel her naked body some more.

He quietly dressed himself and then made a great effort to curse and swear out loud as he picked up the scrambler out of his pocket and let out all the anger he had that it had failed for real, to better sell his anger. It startled Laura awake who had still been asleep after he pulled away from her, he turned around and changed his expression when saw her, again letting himself ogle her naked body.

"Still, can't really blame you my little pet…" Julian said as he traced a finger across Laura's cheek, she kept a docile expression on her face, making herself look as submissive as possible.

"Long day, I wasn't paying attention and I couldn't even give you my full attention when I got here I was so tired. Don't worry though my little Doll I'll be back soon and I'll make sure they treat you well, after all, you were such a good girl last night. Loved the little striptease you gave to help get me started, I'll have to make sure I give you a special reward when I come back." Julian said, hating himself for every word he said as Laura kept the same expression on her face, went down to the floor in front of him and knelt before him.

"Please come back soon master, it is very lonely without you." Laura offered in soft, submissive voice, but he caught the micro-second of fire in his eyes, she would make him pay for this.

* * *

"Everything satisfactory sir?" Julian was interrupted on his walk, trying not to think about Laura, trying not to think about what he had just done to her. He'd used her like he swore he never would do, but he had and it as not easy being two-faced the way his stomach felt right there.

"Perfectly, but I gather I think I was being watched as I often try to avoid while I'm here. I thought the idea of membership was a certain level of anonymity to this club. While granted that tape could be considered harmless on its own and chalked up as a cheap home movie I don't appreciate that I might be blackmailed. " Julian said and wished his powers were time traveling so he could undo the whole mess.

"Not as long as the anonymity of this club is protected, you'd be surprised how often someone has a crisis of conscious or mentions this place to the wrong person, it can be very damaging for business. We rely upon a strict referral-only policy to ensure we do not start attracting the wrong crowd here, we wouldn't want the rabble to overrun the place would we? Rest assured, this place is our little secret and what may or may not have happened between you and your Doll, but if you wish I could get you a private recording for your enjoyment." Master offered, Julian suspected that he might receive a blackmail offer, or his parents might but he didn't really have anything else to say besides his usual bravado.

"No point really, both Doll and I know what we did and instant replay is for sports not sex. Besides, I'd just had a particularly bad day and couldn't even throw my best effort in there, I think Doll was a bit upset about how little fun we had. However I'll be coming back tonight and I plan to be nice and rested so she can and I can have a nice long night and I can give her a special reward. I barely had to say a word last night, I just asked her what she wanted to do to me to help me unwind and there she went. Went right over that dancing pole and gave a five-star performance to help get me in the mood and put that crappy day I had behind me. Then when she was down to nothing at all, I was just sitting there with my shirt off and not feeling like doing much of anything tonight when she really got down to business. Doll just came over, ripped my pants and boxers straight off and sucked me off right there and swallowed like it was candy. Then after that was done she got right into my lap and told me with those pretty green eyes of hers for me to please have my way with her any way I liked so I could feel while she kept her hand right on my dick. Doll could see that I wasn't really up for much last night and just need a few quick rounds to take my mind of off things, so she did just what I needed her to do. There's nothing like waking up to that hot little body of hers, I was almost ready to give her a nice morning-after fuck but I knew I'd take time too much time enjoying myself and be late for some work I have to do." Julian went on, pretending like last night had appeared somewhat vanilla for a man and the sex slave he'd bought to serve his every whim.

"A special reward you say, would you like any particular girl reserved for that?" King asked wondering what Julian intended to do with Laura.

"I don't know, if we go that way I'll take Doll for a walk, see who's available and ask Doll who she think she'd like to have as participant. Giving her the pick will be her special reward for the night, let her pick the girl she'd really like to get to know better. Though I think I might just spend a nice long time in there with her and make sure she feels very good since I've got the day after off." Julian went on like the cocky jerk he needed to sound like to play his role.

"Well if she is available, I would suggest Angel Dust, she's very good at helping new pets get used to being with another girl if they're having trouble getting into it. Her pheromones are very relaxing as well, or stimulating if that's what you need them to be." King suggested to Julian with a wink.

"I'll think about it." Julian said, working a look on his face that made him seem to enjoy that idea.

"There isn't anything coming up though that might cause a problem and keep you away though is there?" King asked after his client as he left.

"Might be a funeral coming up in the future, but I hope it can be avoided." Julian replied over his shoulder, not sure how much he meant that last remark

Thinking about what Laura might take out on him when they were actually out of there if they had to go through that again. If she could hit him this hard when she was being psychically commanded not to kill, him what she could when she wasn't under any restrictions was too painful to think about.

* * *

"So, the little Doll's pleased her master so much she's getting an extra reward is she? Get up pet, you know the rules." Laura heard King's voice as she was yanked up again by the chain that ruled her life when Julian was not around to keep her from being used, until last night anyway. _Still, if he planned it he seemed to not be too into doing anything extreme to try and 'sell it' as he might say and while I did have to tell him what to do which he could have planned, he did not nearly go as far as he could have. Julian is just in over his head and does not have the understanding to properly plan for a complex mission such as bringing down this place. It is easily possible he simply made a mistake and did not think he should carry at least one backup of the sole device that has protected his cover._

"Yes my King." Laura said obediently as she got up off the bed and began obediently reattaching her shackles. This was a rule for her when not around Julian she was to wear them to remind her of her place. Laura was now allowed carry her hood with her when given permission not to wear it when she had been perfectly obedient.

"Your owner has decided you're to get a special reward for being such a good Doll for him. This could mean you're going to get an extra playmate to work with, so I think after Bliss and Pain have finished with your training today you'll need some extra special training. You're going to get to watch some of our videos of how it works when our clients like to work with extra girls, plus some good tapes showing about how inventive some of our girls can be. After all, if your owner is going to reward you, you'd better be prepared to thank him right back for that reward. Watch carefully, I will ask your owner to make sure you gave him a reward back when he's finished with you on his next visit." King told Laura as he tugged at her leash as a reminder.

"Kneel, head on the floor facing the door Angel Dust comes and gets you, you're her responsibility and so from now on if you misbehave, you both will suffer for it. You've had plenty of lessons now to know not to misbehave so if you still don't understand it someone must not be doing their job and I know it's not Bliss and Pain nor is it your owner. That leaves only one possibility and I while don't want to have to give Angel Dust punishment, she might not be helping you at all or even confusing you. I'll tell her of the new arrangement to make she's extra motivated to help keep you pleasant and pretty for your master." King said as Laura obediently went over and kneeled at the door with her head down as he left the room and closed the door.

Laura kept a few thoughts to herself this time, it seemed King had not noticed her two separate thought patterns. It was predictable though, it was an unfamiliar psychic defence and King was a very arrogant man about the security measures he took to ensure his dominance.


	8. Violations

Disclaimer: Writer not affiliated with Marvel in any way, shape or form, characters and original settings all belong to Marvel Comics. Just wanted to finally give these two a chance, been rooting for them since they met in New X-Men. Now let's all write Craig Kyle and Chris Yost and tell them to give these two a break in the comics, I think we can all agree they both deserve it!

Timeline Notes: M-Day has not happened in this timeline, nor did Laura/X-23 take part in joining the characters of NYX, but her personal timeline before NYX is intact. Claremont's X-Men run and by extension and the events in New X-Men have not involved Laura Kinney at all. Similarly, events that became possible by M-Day such as Civil War, Messiah Complex and Secret Invasion will not have occurred. (Mass mutant rebellion against Registration would have fielded advantage to the Anti-Registration side after all). Julian Keller has left the Xavier Institute approximately one year before the story takes place, but the Hellions Mini and his activity in New Mutants Volume 2 and New X-Men: Academy X have all taken place.

Character Notes: Estimating Julian to be 17 years old at the time of this and Laura to be about 16 years old given Comic timelines move in strange and mysterious ways and characters are suddenly younger and older for no reason. Maintaining Laura's tendency of not using contractions and slang when she talks as seen in New X-Men and X-Force. Also taking my best guess on Laura's personality in this time line and how it would evolve over time.

Note for "M" Label: Contains strong language, strong sexual themes with some graphic description in certain chapters with intermittent violence and some scenes of torture. Not for younger readers of course, but it's the internet and I doubt anyone's taking maturity labels seriously… Not all chapters will contain everything above, so relax, not a wall-to-wall smutfest.

Special Note: Chapter is what really puts this story firmly in "M" territory regarding sex, however what occurs is a one-time thing. Don't like it, skip ahead, but read up to what you aren't going to like because it factors in to what happens next chapter.

Chapter Eight: Violations

Laura waited in Julian's room she was instructed by King and then the cycle began once more. Angel Dust came and led her away, filling the air with her pheromones as she asked Laura calmly and politely to obey everything she was told to do. Angel Dust talked of how she didn't like being punished and was worried King might be unhappy with her and take away her responsibility of being Laura's keeper and getting to make her pretty for her owner.

"I will do all that is asked of me if it keeps King pleased with you Angel Dust. I like having you help me look good for my master." Laura told her as she was led into her cell by Angel Dust. They now shared a room on the second floor of the slave quarters, the rooms were nicer with softer bed and they were allowed better food and drinks other than water It seemed that being made a personal slave allowed for better quarters if it was determined she would be kept as one, or if you were considered to be becoming a more useful slave like Angel Dust apparently was. Laura and Angel Dust had been brought there and told because they were both doing so well they were getting a new room as a reward and they would have to prove they deserved to stay in it.

Laura lay down and slept for a while until once again yanked up by her chain by Bliss who had come to taker her for a new conditioning session.

"It's time to go Doll, master wants to make sure you're very appreciative of your owner for tonight." Bliss told her as Laura kept her docile face on and silently marched behind her towards her next round of torture.

They arrived, Bliss took her inside and hung her leash from the hook dangling from the season so Laura was again forced to her knees with very little slack remaining from the leash once more.

"So, another night of being your owner's plaything? Anything to say?" Bliss asked, she always asked, it didn't matter, silence or answer, there was pain and pleasure for her.

"I am happy to do whatever master asks me to do." Laura said, she'd said it for her last five sessions, it seemed to make the pain pulses less frequent during her conditioning. They took turns over the next while, imbedding the rebellious and submissive words with pain and pleasure, Laura was concerned about the imprinting though, she was worried it was beginning to take. She felt a bit of a tingling in her she heard the word pet and felt a fear of pain when Julian mentioned getting free. She hoped she was convincing them she was a convert, otherwise she would have to sooner rather than later ask Julian to break her free before she was broken down.

After the session, she was taken away and led to a private booth by Angel Dust, where inside various monitors showed other girls in the act with clients. She was told to sit there and watch until she was told she could go. Deciding to use the time as recon, Laura catalogued the girls faces against the names marked on each monitor and watched their expressions carefully, noting which seemed to be prisoners and who were their secret guards. She also made an effort to look like she was studying the sex acts themselves, she knew most of them but she was concerned Julian would be unfamiliar with them if they had to repeat the charade the next night if he couldn't repair his scrambler. Laura cursed him out in a hidden thought, taking the risk that her training was good enough for King not to notice. No psychic bombs in her brain, he wasn't watching or he was watching and didn't catch it.

Time went by, Laura counted up forty-seven girls, forty-two were slaves, and five were Elites. If the girls worked by eight-hour shifts, that would mean a possible one hundred fifty slaves with various times to work. If the shifts were shorter or longer, the number could easily adjust. The Elites except for one were all Inducers, it had to be something about how they didn't have to really be broken into sex slaves, just taught to use their powers to drive men into ecstasy and by extension, let them truly be in control. The other one was a shapeshifter, Mirage Laura thought her name was, or could estimate from the personas she took on. Shape shifters tended to stick to a brand of impersonation, some did exclusively superhero or supervillain women while others did models, actresses or singers. Laura was then found and taken out of the booth by Angel Dust and told that her owner was coming back and they needed her ready for him. It had become routine, bathing, body paint, fetish clothes, restraints and hood. She didn't even flinch when the hood was pulled on anymore, she accepted it and let herself be marched to meet Julian, her official owner and hopefully her secret liberator.

* * *

Julian figured he had probably broken more federal laws during his day than he did when he did his corporate sabotage. First he'd had to find someone who could examine his scrambler to find what was wrong with it to be sure it was the battery. It was, then there was the matter of finding a battery that you needed to be part of a secret government organization just to get the order number. Then he had to find a couple of other things as well, he needed to get the plan moving. Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in bribes later, he had a set of new batteries that worked in scramblers, two new scramblers and two new psi-blockers, he would be fully prepared from now on. He would carry two of each device on his person and leave a spare of each in his safe.

He was glad he'd started his blind private account to funnel his trust fund cash in to make sure it was his and no one saw what he did with. His parents probably did check out his account to make sure he wasn't spending it on anything that could cause problems for them bank. His explanation for having used over four million dollars up with no evidence of a new house, cars, or anything would not be believed, since he didn't really have one. The money had been on a bit of the excessive side for some batteries and two things that looked like packs of cigarettes, but for what he wanted so quickly, there was cheap and useless or expensive and working.

He then spent two hours lying on his bed thinking about what he'd done the night before, what Laura had let him do to her in the cause of maintaining their cover. His body had been pushing him towards her since day one, he wondered, did he sabotage himself so they'd have to do that? No, he wasn't that smart or devious, or a sadistic bastard like every other pervert that paid to use The Club's 'services'. He was better than that, he'd acted out some of his physical desires and it had felt _good_, but had left him feeling rotten, he'd violated her because of his own foolishness.

Julian examined his information, it was good but it might not be enough to help break Laura and the other girls out with the information he had. Laura's video recording, a crude map that she'd helped him put together, with areas still unknown. They did have a near-total count of the girls, who were their hidden guards, how many guards there were and how many clients on each day visited The Club. Laura was sure that the Inducers and some of the others had elite quarters because of their status but did not know of their location, or if King lived there or came and went. The guards, while certainly some of them were mutants because The Club did use them for security, others were just humans but the problem was he rarely saw the mutant guards power up. Were any of them real heavyweights? Probably not, they just needed to contain a situation until Switch turned client's powers off and that was it. The mutant teleporters were the real issue, it was just a matter of calling and suddenly you were there and who knows how fast they could move trouble _out _of the club and somewhere fatal? Then they would just go somewhere else and build a new Club.

He also worried he wouldn't get heard. He could demand that Miss Frost read his mind to find the truth, but after what he'd done the night before, he wouldn't cross that line without Laura's permission. It was bad enough King had probably watched it and enjoyed every second of catching one of his favourite customers and slaves in the act. He didn't need Miss Frost thinking of him as some kind of perverted rapist, who knows how she interpreted what was going on in his head, or the hundred other things he'd done since he'd left the Institute. They might just lock him up, try some idiotic rescue attempt and Laura would never be seen again by anyone she might call a friend.

"God, if you're actually there it's me, Julian. I know I haven't exactly been your best example lately but I'm trying to change that and it's going to be really, really hard for me to change anything if Laura kills me. So give me a hand and I'll try and make this right." Julian whispered, he was partially an atheist, but at this point anything that might help him out didn't seem like a bad idea.

* * *

Julian arrived at the usual time, Laura was right up front for him as always, he really wished they'd just leave her to wait in his room rather than parade her around like a trophy. King was off somewhere else, perhaps trying to sell another client on VIP status or trying to retain someone. King's bothering him when he arrived had become less frequent of late, probably satisfied that Julian was satisfied with Laura's service to him. Julian took her leash away from the girl holding it out to him and led her away to his room before he had to engage in any conversation with King's sadistic minions. He activated the scrambler as soon as the door was shut, checked to make sure the battery was working then quickly undid Laura's restraints.

"Go ahead, I deserve it. Face, stomach, knees, nads, hit wherever you like as much as you like." Julian said as he stood before her and offered her a free pummeling of his body and anticipated the pain to come.

"You have been punishing yourself for what happened last night since you left me, it is evident from your expression and offer for me to do you bodily harm. I gather you are trying to curry favour with me and apologize by offering me an outlet for my frustrations. Your amateur planning and lack of judgement led to the situation last night. Worse still, it seems you told him I was going to get a special reward tonight, so King decided I should be ready to reward you right back with something special of my own. That led to my having to watch all the closed-circuit footage of the various clients and the girls earlier today engaging in wide variety of sex acts that I should study to use for your benefit tonight. Those acts could be dangerous, some I witnessed required both parties to be well-versed in what they were doing our injury could result, this could lead to you being seriously injured and delaying my escape. You are correct, you deserve a punishment and pain is considered to be an excellent way to discourage poor judgement and behaviour." Laura growled as she slammed a fist right into his stomach, Julian had the wind knocked out of him. _Damn, well I did deserve it, still, where'd she learn to hit like that?_

"…Possible I made a poor choice of words when I left.." Julian coughed out in a rather as he rubbed where she had knocked the wind out of him.

"I would also like to remind you that you need to be better prepared in the future. Your lack of preparation or having a viable back-up for your scrambler left us in a position where we had to actively maintain our cover. Your body's physical desires were also far too overdriven, you should seriously consider masturbation in the future before coming here to relieve this in case we are forced to maintain cover again. You promised we would never have to physically couple or have any other kind of intimate physical contact while we attempted your plan, your lack of judgement is again to blame for that." Laura's knee came in, Julian was sure she could have hit him harder than she did, but that was of little relief.

Julian fell over and choked a bit as he was almost sure he felt his balls reach his neck. That was the worst pain of his life aside from the grenade fragment in his chest.

"…I'm sorry, I did deserve this." Julian choked in a higher-pitched voice than he normally had.

Laura cocked her head and acknowledged that Julian was sincere after absorbing such punishment. She had not wanted to test him in such a manner in case he was attempting to deceive her, build up her trust and then twist so he could violate her for his own purpose.

"I don't suppose that the whole porno-watching session you out of your torture sessions either." Julian asked as he tried to get his breath back from the second hit.

Julian endured it without complaint, Laura life in The Club was hard enough without his adding any unnecessary complications or complaining on his own discomfort. Julian held on to the armrest of a chair for support while he waited for the feeling to come back between his legs.

"No and that is the problem, it is beginning to work. I am starting to get a positive sensation when I am called pet and I feel a little apprehensive when you mention escaping from here. I suspect it goes on goes on long enough I will live to hear the words I am being conditioned to respond to as a slave. I think I know which are a set of guards are though, I am now 95 percent certain all the Inducers are guards, with the exception of the one called Angel Dust, but I think she is being groomed to become one of them judging by recent events. Several days ago because we had been termed to be rising in value, we were given better quarters on the second floor of the slave quarters together. It seems they believe I am pleasing you well enough that I will be made your slave for a long-term basis that will last weeks or months. Angel Dust is being chosen by the Inducers to join their group I suspect is her reason, or they just want to make sure I am kept docile when not in here with you. The other possibility being they want her for another mutant to extend their influence over probably King in addition to all the lower slaves." Laura warned Julian as she considered the influence Bliss and Pain were having on her.

Julian started taking new notes down as Laura mentioned this, it didn't surprise him, and the Inducers who had given him sessions did have a certain air about them like they didn't fear him at all. That was rather an odd thing to see, it was like they knew he was in much more trouble than they were if anything happened.

"Have you seen the one that took your powers away recently?" Julian asked, wondering if she'd made any progress on that front.

"No, but again I am kept either in for a torture session, in my cell with Angel Dust who keeps me doped up with pheromones to clearly think most of the time or here with you. If he is in there while I am being tortured I would not know. Still, he has a distinct sound when he walks, I believe they are cowboy boots with spurs. When he walks around and I am sure I hear them when I'm being led around here, if I heard them I would know it was him." Laura said as she thought about the man who'd made her helpless to begin with.

"Those weirdoes always have some kind of gimmick, I remember Wolverine telling at the Institute that way too many of these guys like to make you know they're coming. It's part of their thing to instill fear and they like to make sure everyone knows who's coming to get them. I'll see if I can spot him the next time I'm here but since its pretty much I see you and take you here, that doesn't leave me with much time to look around." Julian noted Laura's indication of Switch's rather unique footwear.

He thought about tracking the man down and maybe sneaking his picture, more evidence to help his case if he could identify a mutant criminal, one who was enslaving his own kind. Julian thought he saw Laura's eyes change when he mentioned Wolverine, but he couldn't be sure, Laura did have odd behaviour and it was hard to tell what she was reacting to sometimes.

"All you need to do is go for a walk right now. Take me along and if I see him or hear him and I will let you know, I will stay chained up and play my part. Say you're just having a look around and seeing if you feel like bringing in another girl to make things more interesting. Worse thing happens is you march me around for a while with no gain, it could be a while before I am granted any freedom of movement around here. We should attempt this now so you can gather the information you need, identifying this man could be very valuable from an intelligence standpoint." Laura suggested as Julian felt a pang of discomfort at the suggestion, he'd already used her in a way that left him feeling a bit sick since it had happened.

The thought of marching Laura around on display like his slave was not something Julian wanted to imagine. What had happened last night had happened because he had made a foolish mistake, what if he made another when he went out there? It could be worse for them and even worse for her.

"I don't want to march you around like you're my slave, besides, we may not be able to pull it off." Julian said, trying to get away from the idea.

"If we can maintain our cover while coupling three times for a hidden watcher than this will be relatively simply. You are obviously capable of acting the part of one of The Club's regular clients or you would not be here now. All we have to do is play our parts, I take the role as your submissive slave while you pretend to pick a potential slave to go with what we pretend we're doing in here You do not need to actually invite one back here, just pretend none of the slaves are particularly enticing for what you want to do. I will not wait around to become a fully brainwashed slave just because you are incapable of forming a coherent plan for escape." Laura snapped at him, it was annoying to have to continually prod him into doing things necessary or her to escape.

Laura might be playing the slave but it seemed she would have to take charge from now on, behind closed doors she had actually taken complete control of what went on between them. Laura could tell Julian felt so ashamed of what happened last night he could barely handle the thought of being seen with her in their pretend roles. Laura knew he had enjoyed himself more than he would ever admit last night, but also could tell it was troubling him that he did.

"We coupled and we stayed out of trouble. You feel ashamed about it as well you should for it being your fault but it did not destroy my innocence with the act. If you would simply maintain our cover for this one act it could become an invaluable piece of information for the plan." Laura told Julian in an authoritative voice, it seemed to help get his attention, and he was used to taking orders in one way or another.

Laura considered that, as a former student at the Xavier Institute, Julian had probably taken many orders in terms of training to use his abilities and he could have had a female mentor in that. Julian could be responding to a familiar behaviour pattern of some kind when a woman with seemingly more authority or knowledge than him gave him an order. Laura thought about it as she began strapping on her restraints again, then motioned for Julian that he should replace his shirt and jacket and go for their 'stroll'.

"I'll go with what I told King yesterday if anyone asks I'm giving you a special reward for the way you've served me lately. Anyone asks why you're not masked up. I'll say I'm giving you final choice on our third party for the evening." Julian said, some of his confidence returning that he would be able to pull it off.

"If you wish for me to say something, you will have to ask me directly, I am your slave, those are the rules. Ask them what they think they offer as a third party for us, if they'll pleasure me as eagerly as they pleasure you, does looking at my body make them aroused as it does you. Do they have a special talent that no other Club worker has. Act confident, pretend like you are already imagining the three of us together, it should not be that hard. I will ring my wrist cuff chain if I see him, it will be up to you to figure out who he is, use my body as necessary to shield your camera to catch his image." Laura said as she and Julian stood right next to the door.

Julian swore to himself, opened the door and sadly led her out of the room by her leash, but forced himself to put on his arrogant demeanor.

* * *

Julian reluctantly led Laura along by her leash as he walked towards the common area where available slaves were waiting for eager clients. He walked in slowly at first, looking to see if there was any nearby minion aside from the customers who was likely to be the one keeping Laura's powers dormant. Laura tugged on the chain linking her wrists to indicate nothing so he slowly walked around the room.

"Tell me, do you think you could work with my pet?" Julian asked the first girl, who turned out to be a shape shifter, almost wishing Laura could hit him for saying such a thing.

"As long as she lets me have you to myself for a bit, or lets me have her to myself maybe…" The shape shifter purred out, she was a broken down slave but eager to please to avoid being mistreated. She suddenly shifted to mirror Laura, Julian went to thinking of the Arctic and golf. Julian noticed the collar around her neck that did not change with her shape, it was marked in clear letters and indicated her name was Mirror. He'd never actually taken a good look at the shape shifters before but it seemed they had been fitted with collars to indicate their Club identity.

"I don't think so, this one's still a bit new so I don't need you spooking her. But she is training very nicely, perhaps soon enough you and her can give me a very special birthday." Julian said smoothly, he walked on to the next one quickly trying to erase the image of having two Laura's to himself.

The next slave was also a shape shifter, who offered him a three-way with Laura and her personal impersonation of Megan Fox. He almost asked Laura for another kick to the crotch to numb him for the rest of this experience, he told her she was definitely in the running as a third party but he had to check the rest of the merchandise. He noted her name as being Mirage, one who Laura had suspected as being an Elite. It seemed while she was an Elite, she also had a sexual appetite if she was so ready to jump in with him and Laura as a third party.

They went around the room, Exotics, more shape shifters and a couple of telepaths all made offers Julian tried to wipe from his mind the second they were made but no power-stealing Mutant. Then came the Inducers, Bliss was not available but a few others that had served him including Domina and Queen were there. The larger surprise was when he was directly approached by Mistress. Mistress, who had never even looked at him twice in the two months he pretended to be just another client offered to give him and Laura a private session.

The second Inducer who gave out pain, called Teacher offered to give him a chance at privately tutoring Laura in the proper ways of servitude. Julian was very much tempted to throw her through the wall with his powers but he restrained himself, just. Julian tried lingering, but felt Laura tugging on her leash a fraction, letting him know it was time to go and try this another time, one did not linger in such a place. You either took another slave to join you or left because you did not find you were looking for. Julian didn't seem to understand that though, but he realized his indecision looked suspicious so he decided to further play out his role as another degenerate client. He then moved to sit down and indicated that Laura should sit in his lap while he asked Mirage, a second shape shifter called Dream and Mistress to come over and make another offer. He liked them all, but tonight was a special reward night for his pet so he was going to let her make the final choice.

He was sure he could spin it as he bought Laura and himself a few moments as he figured there was a way out, if it meant asking Laura to whisper what she'd like to do tonight and then say with an offer like that he wasn't sure he wanted to share her quite yet.

Mirage enhanced her earlier offer of giving him Megan Fox as his second partner for the evening, he asked her to give him her interpretation of the actress nude, she did not disappoint. She then offered to change over to her personal interpretation of Jessica Alba and Scarlett Johansson, both nude as well. Julian was glad he had chosen to wear loose cargo pants that night. It didn't help out that much and Laura probably did not enjoying the growing bulge she was sitting on.

The second offer was the shape shifter who wore a collar indicating her name was Dream. It became quite awkward as she offered him her 'superheroine flavour' which raised the level of awkwardness for him considerably. Her specialties were the X-Men, which meant Jean Grey, Emma Frost and Psylocke, three women he had met and one of whom had been his own student advisor for some time. Julian once again he thought about very cold things and golf. There was still no power-draining mutant nearby and he was running out of time.

Then there was Mistress, the very dominant woman who walked around in red dominatrix gear and had slaves kissing her boots for a single touch from her fingers. She was practically running The Club Laura had said on a certain level from what she understood. No Inducer was wanted as much as she was but she took so few men to her 'private sessions' and never more than once, she seemed to enjoy the cruelty of giving men a sample of her ability and then taking it away for good. She was known to work a lot though with VIPs who had personal slaves from what Laura had discovered, which explained her interest in them. They were the newest owner-slave pair in The Club and she wanted to have her particular brand of fun with the two He asked her about what she could do and was told that if he took her with him and Laura, she would ensure that she could solidify their master-slave relationship perfectly in a few short sessions. Mistress also told them for tonight, she would make sure he and Laura had the best sex of their lives, in coarser terms.

"I don't know little Doll, it all sounds so very appealing but like I said it is your special night for being such a good pet, what do you think we should do?." Julian said, again, trying to buy time foolishly. _She's going to kick me in the nads so hard they're going to come out my mouth._

Then they finally got a break, a rather unique sound of shoes hitting the ground and Julian realized they were cowboy boots with spurs, Laura suddenly gave a little tug on her chain to indicate she heard him.

"Come on little pet, don't be shy, why don't you whisper to me what you want to do with these girls tonight, up we go." Julian said in the arrogant tone he'd so often used in his former days at the Institute, it was disturbing to have to behave like he did but necessary. Laura began to actively lick his ear while whispering into it.

"_You have waited too long though, pick one of the girls __**now**__. If we leave now because he went by it will be worse than anything we might have been caught doing yesterday_. _If King is not watching this he will certainly have at least one of these girls report what happened and then he will watch the tapes of the surveillance in this room!_" Laura whispered into his ear and licked it. Julian forced himself to smile and leer at each of the three women while he considered their offers. He used Laura's body as cover to record with the SHIELD camera as he saw the man in cowboy boots walk by. _I'm going to take a piece of your ass you sick fuck before I'm done here._

"_Just take Mistress, you will not have to couple with her, just have her as she offered to enhance our coupling, you will determine after two or three engagements that I am done and you think I have gotten my reward for the night. Or take the first shape shifter, I can tell from her tone of voice she is a likely guard, I will engage her myself and you will say you prefer to watch. You will also have to initiate all action and give me commands to do what you want to do. Do this or we will be found out!" _Laura whispered with urgency and licked his ear again, Julian smiled again and tried to make sure he didn't grimace.

Julian's attempt to stall and buy time had led to them having to have sex in front of an actual audience this time. Laura would never forgive him for this, his own stupidity had doomed them once more and this time the charade could truly doom them both. Julian then forced himself to smirk and looked at Mistress in a leering manner.

"You playful little thing, I had no idea you wanted Mistress so badly my little pet. You had better make good on your promises though for what you want to do for me tonight if you want her to give you a nice session though." Julian said in soft, playful voice as he gently stroked Laura's hair, who showed Mistress her obedient slave face as she kissed his neck up and down.

"Mistress, my little Doll here has made her choice, so I think it's time we took her back to my room and gave her the reward she's earned. I was really hoping she would pick you, to be honest, I've seen so many clients chase after you I really have to know what you can do. You think you can give my pet here her proper reward?" Julian asked, trying to act confident while trying to hide his dread.

Mistress was wearing a bright red dominatrix outfit as she appraised the young owner and his 'pet'. Julian tried to ignore what she was wearing but it wasn't easy, she had a voluptuous, well-developed body that was outlined well by the red leather that clung to her body like water. Julian went with Mistress for one reason, he would not allow Laura to consent to and by extension be raped by one of the guards that controlled every aspect of her life outside the time she could hide in his private suite.

"It would my pleasure, I'll get her started for you." Mistress said with a smile as she reached over and touched Laura with a single finger, Laura immediately moaned with pleasure at the single touch.

Mistress smiled at this and gave her a few more touches, Laura nearly fell out of Julian's lap as the sensations overwhelmed her. Mistress was far more potent than Bliss was, or just didn't hold her powers back.

"Please, save something for when we really get going back in my room, this way." Julian said as he reluctantly yanked Laura's leash and started leading her back to his room, as Mistress took his other hand and started sending mild pleasure pulses through his body.

Julian hoped he would able to maintain enough self control when things got started to make sure Mistress did not join in, doing this was already bad enough. Julian could feel his natural desires rising already, whether it was the thought of having Laura again or something Mistress was doing to him, he couldn't be sure.

* * *

Mistress opened the door for him as he led Laura into the room and then to just beside the bed and pressed down on her head, indicating she should kneel. Mistress came over and stood over Laura and started to affectionately stroke her hair.

"Since you are the client and you seem to have a specific intention for your pet tonight, I will follow with the mood. You seem quite intent to give this little Doll we found for you to play with the best fucking she's ever had. Do you merely need me to stimulate you two?" Mistress asked as she knelt next to Laura

"We don't need you to join in beyond just you using that magic little touch of yours to enhance the sex, my little Doll here seems to work best when she knows she's my favourite little pet. I'd just like you to help us both reach our peaks faster and more often, I'm sure someone as talented as you can help with that. Doll here has become nice and docile now so it's time she got her rewards for being such a good pet, I will let her pick the first way I'll have her tonight and then we'll go from there." Julian said, doing his best not to give away what he really thought about this. Or the thought of having Laura again and Mistress being involved. Or the shame he felt.

Julian unlocked her ankle and wrist restraints, then tucked the key back into his pocket, regretful that he would have to leave on her collar to help sell the affair. Laura kept a docile, obedient look on her face, she had mentally prepared herself for what would go forward.

"Such a pretty little Doll." Julian said as he guided Laura up by her chin with a finger and kissed her once on the lips

He had never done that the whole of last night when they'd had sex, sure he'd felt her up and kissed a few other places with his mouth but never actually given her a kiss on the lips. She tasted very sweet and she kissed him back once in return and then reached down into his pants and stroked his member a bit, then dragged her nail over it as well. He didn't say anything, Mistress would not have seen it and he well deserved it for getting them into this.

"Now when I snap my fingers, take a position you'd like me to have you in and we'll get started and Mistress here will make you feel very wonderful for having done it." Julian said as Laura kept her slave face on, nodded obediently and waited for him to signal her.

Julian snapped his fingers and immediately felt like asking for a kick in the balls for about the tenth time that night. Laura first stripped out of her clothes, but did it a bit slowly, dragging out the removal of each piece of clothing as to entice him further. Then Laura started to undress him, slowly guiding off each piece of clothing while kissing the skin whenever it was exposed. Julian couldn't help but feel aroused by this, Laura soon had him fully undressed and he was standing there with a raging erection. Laura knelt down at first, then kissed and licked his member then wrapped it in a condom. Laura then went over to the cabinet in the room that contained various tools and toys for a client's night with one of the slaves. She withdrew some ropes, walked over, got on the bed and stood up, then pointed at the hooks hanging above it.

"If it would please you master, would you tie me hands up here? I want you to have me like this." Laura said in a soft, submissive voice. _This fool asked me to be ready for a special night and this is what it has led to. Mistress is going to give a full report tonight to either King or she is the real power here, she'll want to know how I 'performed' either way._

_You could have just lain down on the bed… _Julian thought, wondering why she had to take such a position. Selling it, as Laura would say he thought but it bothered him, he felt like he had stumbled into a bondage porno. He reluctantly took the ropes and tied each of her wrists to a hook, leaving a bit of slack for what little comfort he could give her. There she was again, his for the taking, her soft, warm skin, the waterfall of purple hair that went down her back and the ritual body paint all over her body. He had to actually let himself stare at her body to sell this to Mistress and he kept looking. Her body was just impossibly desirable to him in this moment, her soft but firm breasts, her shapely hips, her tight butt and the intoxicating lilac perfume they sprayed her with. His self-control was pretty much gone, he wanted this but I was holding himself back mentally _this is violation, not protection, I can't do this to her again!_ Julian thought as he fought a tidal wave of the desires he had for her body.

Neither of them was ready for what came next, Mistress came up without a word and touched both of them and they were suddenly rocked with overwhelming desire for one another. It fogged their heads as Mistress invited herself to take control of the situation. Mistress took Laura's leash and gave it a hard yank to remind her of her status, then gave her a pleasure pulse to keep her suitably intoxicated. Mistress then gave Julian another touch to keep him filled with the some baseline desire.

"Now master, I'll start her off for you." Mistress said seductively as she ran her hands over Laura's body, all over. Laura moaned with pleasure at what Mistress was doing to her and found it difficult to concentrate on anything, this was five times more intense than anything Bliss did with her in a brainwashing session.

Julian found himself extremely aroused not only by Mistress's touch but Laura's moans of pleasure. He stood in front of Laura naked, the only thing preventing them from having sex was the foot and a half between them. Mistress stood there with Laura giving her touches to keep her under Mistress's control. _She can drive physical desire and give pleasure? Shit, she could keep us at it all day if she keeps her hands on us! _He also couldn't turn her down, throwing Mistress out at this moment, there was no way he'd be able to talk himself out of it. He'd have to try and fight his way out of here carrying Laura and there was little to no chance the teleporter would teleport him out rather than just teleport the guards to surround him.

Mistress took his hand and started filling him with pleasure pulses, then guided him to get closer to Laura and to start enjoying himself. Mistress placed his hand on her chest, he fondled Laura's breast and Mistress intensified his desires further. They both felt them now, it was incredible, it was ecstasy and he didn't care it was wrong, he wanted more. He moved in closer as Mistress kept one on hand on each of her subjects, driving their desires higher as Julian seized the moment and took Laura. Mistress slacked off the pleasure pulses a bit as he merged with Laura, but kept them both in a state of bliss as they hungrily devoured each other. The pleasure pulses continued to move them along with plenty of spiking in their base desires until they both cried out at once in simultaneous climax.

"Very good Doll, I was wondering if a new pet like you able to please a master full time but you seem to be the perfect little Doll after all, he gets to play with you exactly how he likes you." Mistress whispered affectionately as she stroked Laura's hair, Laura lifted her head and kept her submissive face, seeming to be pleased with herself.

"Doesn't look tired though, are you ready for more? We wouldn't want to disappoint master would we?" Mistress cooed to Laura as Julian turned around and panted to catch his breath while again, considering throwing Mistress out before she did anything else to them.

"Master gets what master wants." Laura said in a soft, submissive tone and looked at Julian with her slave look.

"So, how would you like her now? I know, have her from behind this time. You'd like that wouldn't you pet?" Mistress asked as she hit them both with more pulses. Laura moaned and nodded, Mistress led him around behind her, then picked up Laura's leash and gave it to him.

Julian found himself fumbling for another condom and got it on quickly before Mistress sunk her hooks into him again.

"I think we'd better keep her nice and hungry this time, I'll just give her small tastes while you build her up, give her a good yank if she asks for more. Only a master gets to say when his pet gets more pleasure." Mistress said as she grabbed both of them again and drove their desires, Julian again thrust himself into Laura without a second thought, Laura moaned as Mistress continued to treat her like a puppet on strings.

"Now! Give her all of it!" Julian cried out as Mistress's pleasure pulses merged with his desire for Laura and made him want to give her the same feeling he had. Julian growled as another peak hit him, Laura screamed out as she hit her peak as well. He fell down on the bed and tried to breathe, Laura hung limply from where she was tied.

"Oh my, you are a good little pet, you don't even ask for more unless the master says you get to have it." Mistress said, again holding Laura's face up as she stroked her hair like a favourite dog.

"I think that's enough, Doll usually needs to rest after a couple of rounds," Julian said as he wiped stinging sweat from his eyes and pulled himself up, the haze clearing and realizing he needed to stop this now. It was already two times too many and he had no idea how much longer it would go on if Mistress kept pushing them like this. It was the last time he would really have a clear thought that night unfortunately.

"Don't be silly master. We're just getting started here, I can feel this one, and she could go on all night and tomorrow if you asked her to. If you need to have a drink or take a break, I'll keep her nice and hot for you." Mistress replied as she placed both her hands on Laura's body and again, perked her up with strong pleasure pulses.

"Would you like to keep going little Doll? The master doesn't know if you're up to it." Mistress asked as she surged Laura with further waves of pleasure, Laura tried to focus herself but found it hard, all she could do was put on her slave face.

"As long as master wants me, I will be his toy." Laura breathed out seductively, Julian knew she was under the influence just as much as he was, maybe more the way Mistress was working her over.

Mistress was even worse than he thought she was. She would have him work Laura over for days if she could, just to watch Laura behave like a slave and them to fuck with mindless desire.

"It seems she's ready master, are you?" Mistress asked, not waiting for an answer and grabbing his hand again, filling his mind with baseline desire, his higher thought processes were practically gone at that point.

Mistress untied Laura's arms and led her off the bed by the leash and placed Laura standing against the nearest wall and waved Julian to come over.

"Now, how about against the wall? I don't think you'll break her, she's a tough little toy and you can handle her a bit rougher, she might like it more as well." Mistress whispered as she flooded them with new pulses and desire, Julian couldn't even form a coherent thought of protest, there was just him, Laura and their next fuck.

"Wait wait, can't forger this pet's most important duty." Mistress said as she handed a fresh condom to Laura, who kneeled down, removed the old one, teased his slick member with her tongue then covered him up again.

Julian's focus was still gone, Mistress had blown him away and Laura was probably actually better resisting her than she was. He picked Laura up and pinned her against the wall, ramming himself inside her as Laura gasped. Laura dragged her nails across Julian's chest as she was flooded with new waves of pleasure and felt Julian inside of her. It was ecstasy, it was bliss, Julian would take her, Mistress would flood her senses with pleasure and she would forget everything else. Julian kept up his end, holding her up while he merged himself with the girl he desired more than anything else in the world. They soon peaked again, Mistress had guided them along as Julian slowly released Laura down to the floor, and she then leaned in and while kneeling and kissed his member.

"Now, time to make sure the little pet remembers her place. After all, we can't let our little Doll here feel too good without remembering her place can we?" Mistress said as she led Laura around by her leash and while continuing to fill her with pleasure pulses to prevent resistance.

Mistress shoved Laura to the ground and went to work. She quickly reattached the wrist and ankle shackles together on to Laura, then pulled the hated hood back on over her head.

"Now tell me little Doll, do you like it like this?" Mistress asked as she flooded Laura with new pleasure pulses."

"Yes!" Laura cried out as the sensations overwhelmed her.

"Would you like to stay like this forever?" Mistress asked as she kept Laura under her complete control.

"Yes!" Laura cried out again, Julian was still dazed from his last touch from Mistress and couldn't figure out what to say to make it stop.

"Do you like being a good little Doll for your owner?" Mistress asked as she began leading Laura over to where Julian was recovering.

"Yes!" Laura screamed, Julian thought of saying stop, but couldn't remember why he would say that.

"Will you be his good little Doll forever?" Mistress asked, keeping her hooks firmly clamped into Laura.

"Yes!" Laura cried out once more.

"Would you like to suck your owner off now?" Mistress asked as she pulled Laura's leash forward so her lips just touched Julian's member.

"Yes!" Laura cried out and eagerly took Julian's member in her mouth and began a very vigorous blow job.

Julian remembered what was going on and tried to open his mouth to stop her, but Mistress placed a hand on him and began filling him with his own pleasure pulses, the objection faded away.

"Good Doll, keep it up until I tell you to stop. I've got plenty more treats for you tonight if you behave." Mistress said as she continued to treat Laura like her own pet, while keeping both her subjects in a state of ecstasy.

Laura continued to obediently suck Julian's member until it was fully erect again Mistress seemed to like this as she gave Laura another strong pleasure pulse and then stroked her hair affectionately.

"That's enough little Doll, we wouldn't want to get carried away on just one lesson would we?" Mistress whispered to Laura, who obediently released Julian's cock as Mistress continued to drive her desires.

"Now I think it's time we gave her another lesson. She's been a very good Doll tonight, obedient without question and done as commanded. She still needs to understand why she wears her collar though. it's not because she's been a bad pet, it's because she's been a good pet. Good pets do whatever their masters ask them and like the feel of their collars, it lets them feel safe and a good pet never has to fear her master, her master is there to make her feel safe, useful and loved. Bad pets have their collars taken away because they don't understand the privilege it is to have a master, they want to be free but how can they be survive if a master isn't telling them what to do? They couldn't survive without a master! Now tell us little Doll, do you want to be a good pet or a bad pet?" Mistress said, giving the bound Laura a lesson in slave etiquette as Julian watched and fought to get his mind back in order.

"Good pet, master takes care of me when I obey and gives me pleasure. " Laura said in her drone voice, she wasn't sure at the moment whether she was lying or believing it, Mistresses' grip was far stronger than she had suspected.

"Very good little Doll! But we're not done yet before your owner gives you more pleasure. We'd better make sure your master knows how much you appreciate being his private pet." Mistress continued, keeping her hand on Laura, then reaching her over and began hitting Julian with the same desires and pleasure, his mind quickly became a very hazy place again.

"Now tell me little pet, did you like it when we made you up to be his special little Doll to play with?" Mistress asked, keeping a firm control over Laura's base impulses.

"Yes, I liked being made into a special Doll just for him." Laura breathed out seductively.

"Is purple the only colour you ever want to wear?" Mistress went on, pushing Laura to do link these thoughts with pleasure and desire.

"If that is how master likes me to be presented, yes." Laura said in a submissive tone, Mistress increased the frequency of the pulses while keeping her mind a raging centre of carnal desire.

"Do you love spending lots of time making yourself a pretty little thing for your master every time he comes to play with this sweet little body of yours?" Mistress asked, slowly building up pleasure pulses in her body.

"Yes, its fun making myself a pretty thing for him, I know he likes it when I'm made up just for him to enjoy." Laura cried out, she remembered resisting earlier to Mistress's influence but that seemed strange, it all felt so good letting Mistress touch her.

"Do you like to think about what your master is going to do with you when he comes to play with you?" Mistress kept going.

"Yes!" was all Laura could manage at that point.

"Would you like to fuck your master and have him fuck you so hard that neither of you can move for the rest of the night?" Mistress went on and hit Laura with a wave of desire and pleasure that made her climax.

"YES!" Laura screamed out as Mistress smiled and patted her on the head, Laura slumped down a bit from the rush.

"Such a perfect little Doll, here's a little treat for you while we make sure your master tells you how much he appreciates you being his good little pet. Communication is such an important part of your relationship and your master should tell you how much he appreciates you being his good little Doll. While we do this you get to look at that body of his that drives you like a wild animal and think about he's going to do to you next." Mistress said satisfied, she removed Laura's hood, all Laura could do was look at Julian and think about having him on her again.

Mistress put both of her hands onto Julian's shoulders just as he was getting his mind back and started filling him up with more primitive, mindless desire.

"Now master, I think it's time we made sure your Doll understands how much you appreciate how hard she works to be your pet. Wasn't it wonderful that she was a good little Doll on her first night that you just had to have her to yourself?" Mistress asked as she sunk her claws into Julian further.

"I wanted her for myself so badly I couldn't think straight, I just wanted that hot body of hers for me." Julian spoke, he wasn't sure how much of that was him though, it seemed like it was honesty.

"Did you like it when we made your Doll up into a pretty little thing just for you to have for yourself?" Mistress went further on.

"That just made her even hotter, I never wanted to fuck so badly in my life until that moment she was my special Doll to play with." Mistress seemed pleased and kept going.

"Do you like it when you have to punish her for disobedience?" Mistress went further.

"No, I don't like it when I see that pretty face of hers sad, I just want to help her understand so she only gets pleasure." Julian was pretty sure that was right but he didn't know why.

"Do you think about what your little Doll's going to wear and what you'd like to do to her before you come and play with her?" Mistress went on as Julian looked over at Laura, who seemed hungry for him, but also like she was trying to wake up.

"I never stop thinking about it." Julian went, it seemed like the natural answer.

"Now tell me, would you like to spend the rest of the night the way Doll here wants and fuck until neither of you can move?"

"Yes!" Was the only thing Julian had on his mind, he felt like he needed to have Laura until he died.

"Very good pet! You're thinking of the same things your master wants to do, you're becoming such a perfect little Doll and I've barely just begun teaching you!" Mistress went, walking over and touching her again, giving her a couple more pleasure pulses and spiking her desire up again.

I do believe you're ready for more pleasure now. Turn around, your master's going to reward you for being such a good little slave." Mistress said as she led Laura around on all fours with the leash and flooded her with another round of pleasure pulses.

"You know what little pet? You and your master won't get the nice good fucking you both need so badly like this so we'd better sure you're nice and flexible." Mistress took the key to Laura's wrist and ankle shackles and unshackled her.

"Come, give your little Doll all the pleasure she can take, She's earned it." Mistress said taking Julian's hand and pushing his desire along.

He saw Laura's naked body once more with total lust, her smooth skin glistening with sweat over smeared body paint, tight ass, firm breasts and that long, silky purple hair she wore as his Doll. All of her was made up for his enjoyment, the perfume made her even more enticing, He had to have her again, nothing else seemed important at that moment. He took her eagerly as Mistress guided them both along, keeping them so intoxicated with desire for more pleasure their entire world consisted of one another.

They didn't know how much longer they went on, they would fuck, Mistress would spike their desire up and they'd start again. The only thing that seemed to separate their bouts of mindless sex was Mistress having Laura give Julian a blow job between rounds. Mistress kept Laura under her control the entire time, 'rewarding' her with continuous pleasure pulses and making her pledge her undying loyalty to Julian as his Doll. Julian couldn't keep his head nearly long enough to tell Mistress to stop, she was keeping him just as flooded and hazy while she guided him to use Laura like his own personal fuck toy. Mistress kept them going until finally they collapsed after fucking one final time and collapsed in a mass of limbs and fell asleep on the bed. Neither Laura nor Julian remembered ever actually having been led onto the bed, but enjoyed the comfort it allowed while their tangled naked bodies gave out and forced them into sleep.

* * *

Mistress smiled and walked away. It was always nice when she could help a master and pet bond she thought to herself, closing the door behind her as she left. So few people understood what her power really did to them but she knew those two would. Her power was far more potent than compared to other the Inducers employed, she could stimulate both pleasure and desire simultaneously and more. She could push the human body further and longer than normal, temporarily forcing the body to solely fuel the sexual metabolism and stamina of the people she touched. Mistress was quite certain if she got more time with them and kept them under her guidance, Doll and her owner would be so hopelessly addicted to her she'd give them weekly sessions where she could toy with them and keep them addicted to each other and to her, which suited her fine. The raw, hungry desire the two had, it was a turn-on just watching that boy stare at his Doll with sexual hunger as she would stare back at him with the same desire. While the boy it seemed very intentional and natural, Doll did seem confused as to why she wanted him so much but she did have a deep physical attraction that had helped make things interesting. The feedback her powers gave her had given her just as many orgasms as those two had enjoyed last night.

Only for Mistress and for a few others was such a choice possible when it came to how she chose to spend her time in The Club. Her ability was addictive to those she touched and more than one client had begged her on his hands and knees to become his exclusively. She often made them beg for a while and give them some pleasure pulses for such a committed effort, then dismissed it. Her power gave her the authority to do more or less as she wished with clients and she only answered to King, who she had a certain hold on as well. King had become somewhat addicted to her and the other Inducers, he barely ever took any of the slaves for himself and would often spend various times of the day with an Inducer. This gave her and the Inducers the ability to refuse any client they wished and kept the other slaves from getting a chance to join them. If too many girls joined the Inducers at the top, then there wouldn't be enough regular slaves to work the clients. Mistress had influenced King to make both a shape shifter and one of the Exotics part of her little circle to give the others hope they'd rise up too. It wouldn't happen unless they added to the ranks and that would take time, while there were over a million mutants on the planet, only a select few had abilities The Club could use and the physical bodies to go with them. She enjoyed her position and what it gave her it was considered an honor by clients if Mistress responded to their advances. In fact she noticed several of the clients had vainly tried plastic surgery or excessive physical workout to try and appeal more to her after she'd playfully given them a few touches here and there to tease them.

Mistress still came back to thinking of the young client and his Doll though, they had a raw physical attraction to each other that would be wonderful to build on and toy with. She looked forward to a very long future of playing with the young client and his Doll. A perfect master-pet relationship was a pleasure to watch in action and even better to help forge, few understood that it required the pet to receive near as much pleasure as her master in a session. It was what made it work, while the master would always get more pleasure, the pet would be eager to obey to make sure they got plenty of it as well, it was forging an addiction to pleasure that both the master and pet fed off of and made the relationship thrive. Mistress truly hoped that the boy didn't tire of his Doll ever, it would seem a shame for all the help she would give them to go for nothing, Now she would give her report to King, he would like to know just how useful his latest pet had become.


	9. Cry for Help

Disclaimer: Writer not affiliated with Marvel in any way, shape or form, characters and original settings all belong to Marvel Comics. Just wanted to finally give these two a chance, been rooting for them since they met in New X-Men. Now let's all write Craig Kyle and Chris Yost and tell them to give these two a break in the comics, I think we can all agree they both deserve it!

Timeline Notes: M-Day has not happened in this timeline, nor did Laura/X-23 take part in joining the characters of NYX, but her personal timeline before NYX is intact. Claremont's X-Men run and by extension and the events in New X-Men have not involved Laura Kinney at all. Similarly, events that became possible by M-Day such as Civil War, Messiah Complex and Secret Invasion will not have occurred. (Mass mutant rebellion against Registration would have fielded advantage to the Anti-Registration side after all). Julian Keller has left the Xavier Institute approximately one year before the story takes place, but the Hellions Mini and his activity in New Mutants Volume 2 and New X-Men: Academy X have all taken place.

Character Notes: Estimating Julian to be 17 years old at the time of this and Laura to be about 16 years old given Comic timelines move in strange and mysterious ways and characters are suddenly younger and older for no reason. Maintaining Laura's tendency of not using contractions and slang when she talks as seen in New X-Men and X-Force. Also taking my best guess on Laura's personality in this time line and how it would evolve over time.

Note for "M" Label: Contains strong language, strong sexual themes with some graphic description in certain chapters with intermittent violence and some scenes of torture. Not for younger readers of course, but it's the internet and I doubt anyone's taking maturity labels seriously… Read entire chapters before judging please, nothing's written without purpose.

Chapter Nine: Cry for Help

The dreams had not been restful, Julian had come back to The Club and Laura was waiting for him, but it wasn't really her. He had taken her back to his room but when he saw her face, he knew she was gone inside. Laura had the same look she pretended to wear in front of others to play the role of Doll but she had not discarded it. _"What would you like your Doll to do for you master?" _Was all she would say and would actively try to undress him so they could have sex. Julian tried to get her to respond to something else, but Laura said she didn't know who Laura was, she was his Doll. At that point Julian was in a rage, he just exploded with his powers, flew out, found King and killed him on the spot. Julian tore through The Club in a state of rage, Mistress was next, then Bliss, then Pain. The ones who had taken part in her breaking, he tore them apart from the inside with his telekinesis. The rage that had fueled the most violent night of his life had returned in that moment. He won, he beat the guards, had taken down Switch before he had blinked but he had still lost. Laura was gone, Doll just came up to him despite the carnage and asked him how he would like to fuck her and then started begging him to when he refused. Julian had failed miserably in every way, he'd won but he'd lost and the girl he thought he could help had her mind ruined, perhaps forever.

Laura had no better dreams either, they had awakened and it appeared they had been discovered. Julian's body was riddled with bullets before either of them could react. Something went wrong for them though, her abilities were back and in that moment, unleashed X-23. The fight was bloody, Laura hacked her way through The Club like an avenging spirit and left no accomplice of King alive. Laura tried to convince the girls that they were free, but they stared dumbly at her, instead believing she was now their master. Laura went back to see if by some miracle Julian had survived, he had in fact, but he was now just a floating green spirit. This was not a happy spirit though, Laura felt paralyzed, then felt like her soul (she wasn't sure she had one, but felt it coming out anyway) and was suddenly ripped from her body. Laura was now a spirit as well, but now bearing shackles and a collar like before, the angry spirit of Julian told her since she had failed him in life, she would belong to him for eternity.

* * *

Julian awoke first from his nightmare and scrambled to find his discarded watch on the floor and blinked to make sure he read it right. He had arrived at 6 PM yesterday, that had been twenty seven hours ago. He had no idea what time his and Laura's 'session' with Mistress had lasted but it had certainly left them drained enough to sleep for what he guessed was at least twelve hours. Nearly dying of thirst and aching all over. He struggled to remember the night before and then it hit him, along with memory of his nightmare.

Flashes of what had happened, it was terrible, he'd used Laura like the object The Club was trying to make her into and he'd enjoyed every minute of it. He knew Laura had told him to pick an Inducer but that had been the second worst mistake of his entire life, the first one had been when people died under his watch. He had figured he could have told Mistress to call it quits after he and Laura had gone at it a couple times and that would be it. He had sex with Laura a seemingly impossible number of times that he couldn't quite count up and just lay there while Mistress had pushed Laura into giving him a blow job after almost every single time they did it. He still couldn't believe what Mistress had done to them, he knew Inducers could do some incredible things, but she'd kept them going longer than he thought it was possible for any two people to have sex for.

He felt violated by Mistress's influence, but felt ashamed for doing so, Laura was the one who had been truly violated, he'd been the one helping Mistress violate the poor girl, watching and actually enjoying it as Mistress had Laura treat his member like... well he was trying hard not to think about it. The problem was he couldn't stop, he'd gotten off an impossible number of times in a single night, a night of pure lustful feelings and desire that allowed him to act out every base impulse in his body. Now he hated himself for enjoying it, he was failing again, badly. No one had died but Laura had been turned into his own personal amusement toy, he might as well have stabbed her in the chest.

He managed to stumble into the bathroom, his body still quite weak and nearly dying of thirst, he got the water running from the tap, then hungrily sucked at the water as fast as he could swallow. After a few minutes, feeling his thirst go away a bit, he walked back out of the bathroom to see Laura thrashing around on the bed, still wearing her collar. He went mad searching for the key, his memory very hazy on a detail like that, tearing around the room naked, searching for the accursed key that undid her collar.

"Calm down, I was just frightened as I awoke." Laura said to Julian, shaking off the nightmare that had haunted while she slept.

Julian was tearing through the room, looking through discarded clothes and anything else, looking for the small key that would give her a temporary measure of freedom.

Laura catalogued her memories of last night, they were not welcoming. Mistress had a power over them that could not be fought and she had used it to its very limit. Laura remembered all the pleasure from last night, the endless orgasms, it was like her body had been co-opted to serve someone else's purpose. She had been used up like the sex toy she was being forced in to by The Club, the worse part is it was also one of the most pleasurable things that had ever happened in her life. She suspected Julian felt much the same way, the night was terrible and incredible at the same time, every base desire filled out, but only because they had been completely violated by Mistress.

"You shouldn't have to be frightened, you shouldn't have had to wake up like that, and I should've…" Julian choked out trying to apologize as he felt tears running down his face. He hadn't cried for about a year and before that, he couldn't remember when.

"You should stop that activity, it is not helpful to our current predicament. If I could not resist her influence, you had no chance of resisting her either. Her ability is far more potent than either of us suspected and I am not even sure whether one could argue we were actually consenting to any part of what occurred last night. You are lucky you did not call out my actual name when she was controlling us, or if I had called out your name. That would have ruined us for certain but since we are both lying here long after the act, I would say we are safe." Laura said as she tried to rationalize the situation, but couldn't shake the dirty, unwashed grime she felt covering her skin.

Julian was obviously trying to cope as well but he didn't have nearly her level of fortitude for such things. Laura would need to help him get himself back together, he desperately wanted to help her but saw himself as failing, Laura would need to get him focused otherwise he might melt down before he could leave and doom them both.

"Safe, we've had to do to the one thing I swore above all others I wouldn't ask you to do! Now we've done it more times in two days than I've done in my entire life!" Julian wept as he looked away ashamed, wondering how he could fix the mess he had made.

"We will just have to make we do not do anything like that again. It was foolish of you to wait around so long in a room full of completely obedient sex slaves and Elites like Mistress and Mirage ready to give you the night of your life. You are a client of The Club and therefore comfortable with what goes on here so you would not be hesitant to take a second slave if you thought it would make your night more enjoyable. You attempted to buy time to give us more time so you could visually identify Switch but it only forced us into what happened with Mistress." Laura berated Julian, she was upset, she had been used, it was like trigger scent, she had lost all control and done things she had been ordered to do with no will of her own.

"Granted, my idea to use Mistress was not a good idea, I was still not quite aware of how powerful some of the Inducers are or how their power levels varied. We are both to blame. What should concern us now is what Mistress will report that about what happened last night. If she reports I behaved just like a slave should have and my training is done, I could be given more access to this place and better able to gather intelligence." Laura tried apologizing a little herself to make sure Julian held it together, she did not need him falling apart right now.

Laura tugged at her collar with frustration, she wanted to be free of it if just for a while, but she didn't want to make Julian scramble around on the floor like a madman for the key. He was obviously having a hard time keeping it together, he was in too deep on this and was not able to finish it through on his own, but he wasn't going to give up until he got her free either.

"We also have the problem that Mistress seemed very engaged with what she did to us and even receiving feedback from our own orgasms. I suspect she may proposition us to become a more permanent partner for us, she seems to have a very hedonistic personality from my observations that would desire such a thing. If this is true, you will have to say you will have to wait for the breaks in your schedule that allow us to engage in a full session with her so she does not gain access to us on all of your visits here." Laura warned him as she thought about it and considered the situation they were now in.

It would make no sense for Julian to refuse Mistress's offer if she made it. Laura remembered enough of last night to remember having a massive number of orgasms and Julian receiving the same, even more with all the blow jobs Mistress had pushed Laura into giving him. Julian refusing such an offer to have Mistress give them another chance to have sex like that would invite far too much suspicion, she was the most powerful Inducer in The Club and the most sought after. Her powers were incredibly potent and would be considered to help Julian further train Laura to serve his will.

"We can't risk her even propositioning me Laura. All she has to do is be right there with you when I show up, put her hand on me and the next thing we know she's got her claws into us and we fuck like mindless animals until we're practically dead. I won't let that happen again, we have to end this now before it gets any worse. I know you wanted to get more information before I approached the X-Men but I don't think we have a choice anymore." Julian said cutting off the idea of being even near Mistress, he practically wanted to find her right now and choke the life out of her with a telekinetic hand around her neck.

"You have stated before you might not be believed or even given a chance to explain your return to the Institute before they throw you out or give you over to be arrested for your criminal acts. It would be unwise to rush in there without ensuring you have all the evidence you need and the information they will need to infiltrate this location and effect a rescue operation." Laura reminded Julian, the X-Men were her best hope of escape but Julian still seemed doubtful he could convince them.

"Well I'll have to fucking make sure they do listen to me and I think there's no way I'm going to let Mistress do that to us, to you again. I can make sure they consider my proof very carefully if I get them to listen. I mentioned my old teacher Emma Frost to you, she's an extremely powerful and she's way more powerful than King. I can tell her to scan my head If I ask her to scan my memories as proof of what I'm saying, that could be enough to get the X-Men to help us. That plus the information you've managed to collect should make a rescue plan possible with the muscle the X-Men give us." Julian offered, deciding he might as well ask Laura seeing as how his ownership of her was in his mind, he better leave the decision up to her.

Julian could tell by the fire in her eyes right she was burning at the thought of staying in The Club any longer. While he knew Laura tried to guard her responses, her outright feeling of violation from last night was letting her expression be more present than usual. Laura was seething at the thought of being forced to dress up as his sex slave for one more night right then. Even if nothing did actually happen the next time. _No more, it is time to end this before anything worse happens to her_ Julian thought.

"You've never mentioned having your mind examined by this telepath as proof, why did you not mention this before?" Laura asked, wondering why he hadn't brought it up before.

"Two things, the first being that she might get the wrong impression when she reads my mind. I know she's a super-powerful mind reader but I'm sure even they get things wrong sometimes and I've been scared she might misinterpret what's in here. If she looks in here, sees that I paid these people all this money to visit a sex slavery operation it gets bad. If she goes further and sees I had those Inducers work me over and that I made you my personal slave, it gets even worse from there. That's the problem, it could be she just sees the memories of our having sex very vividly and she might just mind-wipe me on the spot out of disgust then toss my ass to SHIELD or whoever for that and all my other crimes. Then there's the chance of no mind-wipe, they just beat the shit out of me for being a disgusting person and the information I have on me gets wrecked during the fight." Julian said worried, it was possible, his memories of his having sex with Laura, of his constant, endless desire for her body might stick out so much Emma Frost might never see his actual intentions.

The X-Men might find the physical evidence later after they had Julian arrested or wiped his memories, but that wasn't really making him feel any better about the idea. If they could actually effectively do anything without some of the information Julian had in his head it could be disastrous. If he had forgotten to write something down or it was something he could only really explain something about it, they could bungle the whole rescue effort, Laura might get hurt, or his old teammates could die even in a failed rescue attempt. Julian did not want any of that happening, not when he finally had his chance to do something good, heroic even.

"The second thing is this means they know about you and what this place is doing to you and what we've done together. I know this is killing you to be treated like this, she'll know that took I took you for myself and had you and you've been stripped of your real identity to be Doll. I don't think it's my right to have them see Doll the slave instead of Laura Kinney the person. She'll be scanning my memory and know it all, if you don't want anyone to know what's happened between us and what you've personally gone through, that's fine. I'll make them listen to me with just what you've helped me put together, if I have too I'll hold one of them hostage and threaten to kill them if they don't

check out the evidence I have" Julian said as he watched Laura consider her answer.

"I will consent to having your mind read by this woman if it helps our efforts. If the rescue effort is successful, it will become readily apparent when you will doubtlessly show great concern for me that we had some kind of relationship. They will deduce I was your informant on the internal workings of The Club and that we may have had to physically couple to maintain our cover at some point. I would like to escape here as soon as possible and I want these people to suffer for what they've done. Both to me and to all other girls, they might not recover from what has been done but they deserve the chance to do so. Do it, bring the X-Men here and destroy this place and make King and the ones like Mistress, Bliss and Pain suffer for what they're doing here." Laura decided as she considered her options and decided it was her best chance for escape, nearly 57 percent. The 43 percent failure rate was based around on The Club's teleporters moving quickly to teleport out slaves including herself and King to some other location and Julian's inability to convince the X-Men to assist him

Julian Keller having his mind was the best choice she would likely ever have so she had to embrace it, despite others knowing what she had done with him. He had no knowledge of her origin so her past as X-23 would not be compromised. If this allowed her to escape The Club, leaving wherever she was taken to recover with the other slaves would be easy to escape, even with the psychic command implants. No one outside The Club would be included in the violence prevention commands and she would have full access to her powers, she would make herself disappear in the chaos of trying to help over a hundred many traumatized former sex slaves.

"Alright, I'll get all my information together and go pound on their door until they listen or have to threaten to blow the school up." Julian said, but felt bad he'd had to ask her permission and would have to show off the shameful things they had done to maintain their cover.

Julian then noticed the key to Laura's collar, it had been under the discarded ropes that Laura had been tied up with when they'd had sex. He retrieved and quickly used it to get her collar off and angrily tossed it to the far end of the room.

"I know you have not wanted to say before, but since this plan of yours could probably fail as you have mentioned, I would like to know what happened to you when you got this. This and why you were forced to leave the Institute, it seems with your power and your desire to help me and the other slaves here you would have been a likely candidate to join the X-Men." Laura asked as Julian looked down at his scar and felt ashamed, then realized after what they'd just gone through, keeping secrets about anything else seemed ridiculous.

Julian sat down on the bed and lowered his head and organized his thoughts. It wasn't hard, he'd not gone a day without replaying the incident in his head.

"We had one of those big knock-down, drag-out fights right at the Institute that seem to happen like calendar events. Everyone was fighting, X-Men and all the students against about six hundred of these whack jobs who called themselves Purifiers They're full-out Religious nut jobs who think mutants are agents of the devil. A lot of them had this full body armour stuff that protected them or even crap that looked like knockoff Iron Man stuff. We beat them back, but I lost most of my training squad, the Hellions." Julian began, trying to explain how the fight had started.

"Kevin or Wither as he called himself because anything organic he touched would just wither and die on the spot. We all felt for him because he couldn't have any human contact. One of the girls on the squad, Cessily had a bit of a crush on him and her body was liquid metal so she wouldn't die if he touched her. Kevin was taken out by a sniper, that was kind of what set me off and I decided we were going to get the Purifiers away from the school NOW. Then there was Brian, we called him Tag because if he touched you, Tag you're it and everyone wants to get away from you, a good friend that died with half his head missing. Then we lost Dust, I guess she was okay, didn't really get to know her, she was ultra-shy and was Muslim, wore one of those burka things and kept to herself and prayed a lot. Probably never would've said a word to her if she wasn't in the Hellions, I really thought she would make it, she could just turn into sand and move so fast she could flay those bastards alive. Problem was, these this one guy in I think what was called Mandroid armour had a high-powered flamethrower and basic science, extreme heat and sand and you get glass. The motherfucker actually turned her into glass and she just shattered. The Hellions were six when we started, Three of us made it and the rest of us nearly bought it as well." Julian talked about how he'd seen his friends die and how his anger had led to what happened.

Julian had been given an order, stay back, Elixir from the New Mutants had tried to heal Kevin but it had been too late, too much damage at once, Kevin's heart was gone. Julian had stopped caring, he'd lost a squad member, the Purifiers would pay for that, worthless flatscans he had thought, he'd show them why mutants were to be feared.

"Santo or Rockslide, big guy made entirely of rock, best friend you could have, too damn dumb by half sometimes but a solid friend to have. He only made it because he found out he could he rebuild himself out of any nearby rock even if he was totally blown to pieces. Cessily or Mercury, she was made of liquid metal so again like Santo, pretty hard to kill, she made it because she just lost it after she saw Kevin die. That was my second mistake, I could see the anger in her face and didn't think about what would happen if I went in there. I didn't, I had no idea Cessily had been crushing on Kevin that bad, she might have even been in love with him I think. She used her arms like big blades and cut her way through anything that wasn't a mutant and almost killed a couple of the X-Men while she was doing it." Julian said as he thought back to what had brought him to this point, he stopped, and then Laura put her hand on his reassuringly.

"I nearly died too, grenade fragment hit me when I lost concentration using my telekinesis when I saw Santo get blown to pieces. I didn't notice I was hit at first though, I found it harder to breathe but ignored it, kept smashing away at the Purifiers as fast as I could to get revenge, I hated every human on the planet in that moment. Three of my friends were dead and politicians the fucking humans had voted in had said countless times the Purifier Cult was protected under the law for practicing their religious beliefs. I actually ripped up the school greenhouse out of the ground and threw it at the Purifiers I was so mad. Santo, Cessily and I had torn through the Purifiers in such a path of carnage that we actually found out later we'd turned the battle in favour of the X-Men. Then just as I was getting ready to really let loose, you have to understand for telekinesis, your anger and cruelty are only limited by your imagination. I started to feel weak, the blood loss kicked in so much I couldn't get enough oxygen to my brain to keep my telekinesis going.. It got worse, a squad I'd had a rivalry with all year long, The New Mutants were the one who came in saved our asses when my squad got in over our heads." Julian thought back to that moment, when he thought he would certainly die, his uniform was stained a darker red than usual and he had thought _that isn't right!_

"Then someone else died, the kid who initially grabbed me and got me clear was hit by an RPG or something like that when he went back to help his friends. I was crying because my friends were dead at that point, because I was dying, but that was what really broke me. I'd never had a problem with the guy who saved me, Jay or Icarus when we were in squad practice. I felt a bit insulted when he left my squad to join the New Mutants but it was a minor thing. He had these amazing wings and this incredible singing voice, half the girls in school were making eyes at him. Most guys couldn't help but envy the guy a bit, good-looking, wings and a voice that made girls cry. Jay also could heal fast, but a rocket? There was barely enough left of him to pick up in a plastic bag.. Three of my friends had died because of me, a fourth person who deserved to survive ten times more than my stupid ass died saving me." Julian said shuddering, he was still crying a bit as Laura put her hand on his shoulder and tried to calm him down.

Laura could see he was obviously in great pain over this but she had never really had friendship besides Megan, her cousin. That relationship had also been far too brief to really get a good understanding of the workings of human friendship. Laura had also never had any real interaction with men of any age and she did believe she had a baseline physical desire for Julian as he had for her, but it was hard to understand. Laura also felt other feelings towards Julian she didn't quite understand, whether it was simple gratitude for him trying to help or caring for him, she couldn't really know.

"Miss Frost eventually had to give Cessily a psychic command to stop and she did, but when I left she was still a wreck, she could barely bring herself together to hold human form after what she'd seen. I tried talking to her but I couldn't, because four of my classmates, three of them my friends had died because of me. You could say I hadn't actually gotten Kevin killed because I hadn't actually charged the Purifiers at that point. Thing was, I had my team too close to the action right then, I moved up too close because I was anxious. I was just waiting for my excuse to knock some Purifier heads in and instead Kevin died because of it. Then I wanted revenge so three more people died, two of them good friends. I got jumpy when they came, the training squads were told we were the last line of defence, we'd hold the school and wait for Cyclops to give us specific orders to throw the Purifiers off-balance push them back from the school. Thing was, I was angry, these Purifier bastards had come to our school and tried to murder us in our sleep so I jumped the gun, Hellions had been told to hold back and wait for the New Mutants to move in first and begin the initial attack on Cyclops's order. I thought we could do it better, scare the fuck out of the Purifiers and rip through them before they knew what hit 'em, we were mutants and they just a bunch of flatscans. I was too close, Kevin got hit and well, I wasn't going to let it stand. I led the charge and we did a lot of damage, Hellions under Hellion, I thought we were unstoppable and I wanted revenge, so people killed. The Purifiers weren't just garden-variety whackos, these were true believers and they didn't get scared when we started tearing through them, they just kept fighting and didn't think they'd lose. Then they had a whole second wave hit us, Brian had his head blown off, Sooraya got melted into glass and Santo was blown apart with a few RPG blasts. Cessily was already out of her mind with the loss of Kevin and tearing through everything in sight Then the New Mutants came in and saved my life after I'd used everything I had and Cessily had sliced and diced about forty Purifiers single-handedly. Then that damned RPG hit Jay after he carried me back to where a healer was waiting for me. I got four people killed and the people I thought were third-stringer X-Men on a good day saved me from dying." Julian pointed to the puckered scar over the right side of his chest.

"A memento I kept to remind myself of what happened. One of the healers saved my life, they couldn't heal the wound because the grenade fragment still in there, but they kept me alive long enough for it to be removed by Dr. McCoy. Then when the healer started fixing it, I told him to stop, I wanted the scar to remind me of what I did. I got my friends killed, another guy who deserved to live more than most people I'd ever met, I failed and my future ended right there. I figured in ten, fifteen years I'd be running the X-Men and the Hellions would be the top dogs, big-time rock stars like the Avengers all over the world." Julian said tracing the scar, Laura didn't know why she touched it herself, it was a bit fascinating to see an actual mark from an injury, and she never bore any.

"There was a firestorm over what they were going to do with me, for some reason Miss Frost my student advisor has always been a bit lenient on me and thought I should stay. Cyclops, who was in charge of the X-Men wanted me out of there. That's actually the polite way of saying it though, half the New Mutants wanted my blood because their friend Jay got killed saving me and the other half were too traumatized from it to have time to want to kill me. I hid out in a tool shed near the edge of the grounds with a sleeping bag and raided the kitchen at night while I waited to find out what was going to happen to me. I didn't want anyone to see me and I didn't want to see anyone either, it was probably safer for me to. Nori from the New Mutants or Surge had twice taken a run at me since it happened, saying she was going to kill me for getting my friends and Jay killed. I wouldn't fight back since I felt like such a piece of shit for what happened, they actually had to put me in one of the school's detention cells for my _protection. _Then the verdict came down from the X-Men, they'd called in nearly all of them to decide what to do with me." Julian said as he wiped off the last of his tears, Laura kept holding his hand as it seemed to be giving him some comfort while resting the other hand on his shoulder.

"It had been close, I'd nearly been thrown out on my ass right there just by their decision. Apparently Miss Frost had managed to work the more reckless members of the X-Men over, reminding them of all their mistakes and all the students deserved at least a second chance to make up for it. Some of the more forgiving ones cut me a break as well it seemed and that was enough votes to keep me in, but not without conditions. I was to be banned from training squads permanently, I would be only allowed to practice my abilities in the Danger Room and be forbidden from using them outside of it unless it was a clear matter of life or death. If I broke that rule, then a full ban on my abilities then expulsion if I couldn't follow through on that. I would have to privately study, as I was going to be too disruptive to be a part of regular classroom activities and maintain an A average. I would not be allowed to join any active team of X-Men until my twenty-fifth birthday. I would have to work for the school in whatever capacity they asked of me during that time once I graduated if I did wanted to become an X-Man.. Then there was the only condition I actually followed through on." Julian went on, he had to get it out, but worried that Laura would lose all confidence in him if she heard what he had done. That or she'd be like the rest and think him an arrogant moron who had gotten people killed because he had lost his self-control.

"It was a statement to the student body on my actions and written letters to the families of the four people who died because of me. I gave the speech to the student body, telling them what happened from my perspective and why I had betrayed the people who had died. I had believed my powers made me invulnerable and that I hadn't thought to think things through, that my anger had got the best of me and what happened could easily have been avoided had I followed orders. The training squads did not make us X-Men, we were children and I had blurred the lines in my head. I said out loud, 'The Hellions died following Hellion' and I was the one to blame. The X-Men had disbanded the team unofficially the day we were wiped out and then officially the day I gave my statement. I said I agreed, no fellow mutant should feel the curse of being stuck on a team that was wiped out, we had enough to fear without worrying our friends would lead us to get killed because they couldn't control themselves. I told them all, nobody should ever want to be Julian Keller, after I'd acted like I was king of the school since I'd arrived. Then I wrote the letters, explaining how Sooraya, Brian, Kevin and Jay had died and that I was responsible. Only two of them actually had to be delivered, nobody could see to find Sooraya's family and Kevin didn't have one at all. I was told to write them anyway and carry them as a reminder, I still do, I've got copies of all four letters framed in my apartment with another set in my safe. Then I took off, I knew I'd never be who I had planned to be, who I thought I had **meant** to be. I didn't want to be there after what had happened, a living reminder for the New Mutants know their friend was dead and I was alive. I couldn't look Santo in the face, but he couldn't look me in the face either so that was that. Cessily couldn't hold herself together, mentally or physically after what happened. she was so traumatized she had to say in the school infirmary as Miss Frost gave her psychic therapy sessions to help her recover. I left, I was didn't know who I was anymore if I wasn't Hellion, leader of the Hellions and the best future X-Man in the school. X-Men didn't really want me there, they'd just pitied me enough to keep me as a future janitor and cautionary tale for the other students. I got a psychic message from Frost when I took off, saying she had used all her power to secure me a second chance and I had thrown it away. I was to consider myself unwelcome on or even near the school grounds or X-Corporation sites around the world." Julian continued, explaining how he'd made good on the apologies, but turned down his second chance to remain at the school.

"Before anything else, I had the tattoo done. It hurt like crazy but I sat there and waited for them to finish it, all in red so I never forgot. K.F. for Kevin Ford, B.C. for Brian Cruz, S.Q. for Sooraya Qadir and JG for Jay Guthrie. the H is Hellions since I destroyed them that day with what I did and well, the date is the day it happened." Julian said touching the tattoo over his heart.

"I went to see my parents after it happened, told them I could use my powers to get them ahead, they gave me a few small opportunities and I leapt at them. I got back in the family, well sort of anyway. My powers were all they really needed and I helped them get richer and get more control wherever they wanted, a hidden telekinetic saboteur that got them on the level of Stark and Roxon. But I was just another employee to them, they didn't want to admit their son was a mutant so I stayed quiet and they filled up my trust fund account so I could have fun, as long as it was nowhere near them. I got into doing other things, one thing led to another and well, now I'm here." Julian said finishing, he got up and paced around the room.

_His emotional state is a mix of probable survivor's guilt and post-traumatic stress, causing his emotional state and driving him to try and make up for what he has done. He feels the need to prove he survived for a reason, or wants to make his survival mean something after a near-death experience and losing valued friends. _Laura thought as she considered his behaviour and his explanation of his past. _The thought of behaving in a non-heroic manner, such as posing as my owner or coupling to maintain his cover is causing him mental stress. He could have trouble maintaining his composure at all if we are forced to couple again to protect his cover if his plea for help is not taken seriously. _Laura analyzed the situation, Julian Keller could become unhinged if the situation went on much further with his inability to effect an escape for her and the other slaves.

"Why am I here? I guess deep down I still have that hero complex I had at the Institute. I'm trying to do better, be better, make the fact that I survived that day matter and I just keep screwing up the one good thing I've tried to do since I left there!" Julian said pacing around and realized how stupid he looked, giving away his life story to a girl he'd 'bought' so he could rescue her while he was naked.

"You are doing the right thing." Laura said as she tried to reassure him, but she didn't really know how that worked, though she had to try to help him or she was doomed.

"You would not be here if you did not want to do the right thing. I have done things I can not take back either, I know what I have done can never be undone but I am still trying to get free of what I did, be better, as you are trying to be." Laura offered as she took his hand in hers and tried to smile a bit for him. It seemed to work, Julian relaxed a bit as he looked down and seemed to brighten up when he saw her smile.

"Even if I leave now, it could be a while before I can get them together, convince them what's going on and have a plan to come back here. Can you hold out against them?" Julian asked as he traced a finger across her cheek.

"They will have to work a lot harder than they have to break me. I have told you before, I suffered much worse before now. If you get back, **when** you come back, I want to tell you about me. I do not know if you'll be able to look at me after I'm done, but you deserve to know. You've told me why you are who you are, I want to tell you where I come from." Laura said, rubbing her fingers over his hand.

Laura had thought about telling him her story after he exposed himself to her but she couldn't risk him being disgusted at her. She needed him to get free, if after this he didn't want to see her again when he knew the truth, that would was fine. Julian did deserve to know though, he had risked so much for her. But she couldn't risk him abandoning her to this place. Laura felt uncomfortable not sharing the trust he seemed to have in her but for now she just needed to get free.

"I'll hold you to that." Julian said as he pulled her into a hug, it was rather awkward with their still being naked, but he managed to avoid arousal and ruin the moment. He quickly got dressed and Laura reattached her collar and pretended to still be asleep on the bed. .

"For the record, I don't care what you did before today. You trusted me and gave me the chance to make something right. I don't think I would have ever gotten any better if I hadn't found you." Julian said as he left and waved off KIng before he could even ask him a question, he had work to do and he didn't feel like pretending anymore.

The next time he came back, he would be taking Laura out of here if he had to fight them all single-handedly.

* * *

"Oh my, did Mistress ever do a number on you two. That boy was too flustered to even speak to me as he left, just saying to me thank Mistress for the best night of his life! Then there's you Doll, she gave me a full accounting of last night's fun. I have to say I am looking forward to the day he gets bored of you, if only so I can sample you to other clients, or try you out myself. Putting you with an Inducer was long overdue really, nothing brings out the little slave girl inside of you like an Inducer teaching you how good it feels to be fucked by your master." Laura looked up from her pillow, King was there and seemingly very pleased with himself.

"You should feel honoured my little pet, Mistress is very selective of who she gives her time to and I know just how good she can make you feel. It seems she's quite interested in you and your master as well, she loved her time with you last night and wants to have even more special time with the two of you. She thinks she has a natural chemistry with you and your owner, she's even asked me to let her take over your regular training sessions from now on." King continued, going on like she'd just been given the greatest honour in the world by having Mistress choose to give Laura and Julian her time.

"That sounds wonderful my King. I didn't know I could have so much pleasure until last night and Mistress gave me wonderful lessons about how to be a good Doll for my owner." Laura offered in her slave persona, hoping her though masking was good enough to keep it hidden as a performance.

"Very good little Doll, soon enough, your owner will just have to snap his fingers and you'll do everything he wants you to do for an entire evening. Which is the idea behind this, while training you girls for your owners can be a lot of fun, the real satisfaction is when you are fully trained and they barely have to say a word for you to carry out their will." King said as he stood over her and seemed to like what he heard.

"I think you've earned a little reward yourself, you'll get to stay on this nice soft bed here until Angel Dust comes and takes you for your very special training with Mistress. Don't forget though, you'll have to stay a good little Doll if you want to keep earning your rewards." King told her, playing the benevolent owner with the tiny reward of being comfortable before being tortured.

King left after smirking one time at how effectively Laura was pleasing her owner. Laura allowed herself to relax on the bed and waited for Angel Dust to come take her.

Angel Dust came and it started again, Laura became hazy again and feeling more compliant as Angel Dust dosed her with pheromones as she was taken to a conditioning room for another session, this time with Mistress. It was the same at first as always, leash holding her in place and then they would go to work. This time though Angel Dust was told to stay in the room, Mistress said she was being considered for advancement and should start learning what the higher-ranked girls did to maintain their position.

It was different this time, Mistress focused more on making sure she would be obedient not only if Julian gave her a command, but that she would be filled with unbound joy just to hear him talk. There was also the usual code word conditioning, obey meant strong pleasure pulses, disobey and suddenly she felt Pain's familiar presence as she was wracked with pain. The session went on for the usual amount of time, however long that was, it was getting harder and harder to keep track of time during the sessions as being awash in pain and pleasure did not do much for keeping a sense of time. Mistress whispered a few more commands with attached pleasure pulses, suggesting that she should ask Julian to use Mistress every night with them every night to help make her a better pet.

* * *

Julian couldn't have himself teleport directly on to the Institute or risk arousing suspicion, he had himself returned to L.A. first. Julian quickly double-checked that he had all his information, sketches of The Club's interior, guard details, who were Elites and who were captives, King's psychic influence and Switch's description. The video recorder held three recordings from Laura now and one of his own he'd made, begging on the camera for whoever saw this to just look at the information he had.

Julian decided he would need to clear out his safe as well, if he did get into trouble at the Institute, he'd need to remain on the outside to keep trying to help Laura. He pulled the money, fake passports, spare psi-blocker and scrambler and put them all in the steel case he had for carrying it all. Julian wouldn't bring it all right to The Institute, if there was trouble he'd not have time to focus and take it with him and that case was his lifeline for escape. There were lawyers in New York that his parents had said to use if there was trouble _not _related to what he did for them, so he'd leave the case with them. His parents were off in Beijing anyway doing something business-related so it wasn't like the lawyers would speed-dial them about showing up. The lawyers weren't going to call them about their least favourite offspring asking them to hold a metal case. Julian suspected that his parents wouldn't really want to know either if there was trouble, more of a 'just get him out of whatever he's in and keep it quiet' deal.

Julian got everything together and then immediately took off as fast as he could possibly could. He was pretty sure he pushed past even his best speeds making for New York. He needed the speed, if Miss Frost or the Cuckoos saw him coming, they might just make him turn around before he could make his case. While he had the psi-blockers, he wasn't sure how they'd match against Cerebra, or even Miss Frost out of the machine. He did take it slow at first, his mind was still foggy and the soreness of his body kept him from being able to concentrate too much on flying. He had all of his notes and the video recorder, he'd need it for physical evidence and information in case Miss Frost refused to look inside his head.

Julian made the drop to the lawyers in New York, saying he had some things to take care of and this case was a large amount of cash which he did not wish to carry around. Julian explained he was trying to get his hands on some classic sports cars and the owners would only deal in cash. He would return for the case when he had managed to negotiate a deal, it wasn't really a bad excuse when he thought about. He was a rich teenager and such things would appeal to him, they told his parents, they'd not think twice likely. People with money at one point or another started spending the money for the sake of spending it, even mutants who could fly might want a classic Mustang or otherwise. That taken care of, Julian once again took off, this time with every bit of speed he could manage.

At top speed, which he estimated in short bursts made him faster than any jet in the world, he doubted they even saw him coming, he started to slow down just as he was landing where he saw a large gathering on the Institute's rear field. Julian guessed it was a round of mutant soccer, the training squads liked to let off steam by doing so at least when he was there, three squads would split into two teams, with one team splitting their members between two teams to get both sides to nine players, with the team who had to split decided by coin toss. Two more students from other squads taking goalie. It was a lot of fun to watch which meant a lot of spectators, but even more fun to play. Only rule was, you couldn't use your powers to harm or psychically interfere with other players, that still left a wide range of opportunities. With Cessily playing goal, she had backstopped the Hellions to seven straight wins before the Purifier battle.

_Too late now. _Julian thought as he aimed himself to come down directly in the middle of the field

* * *

It was New Mutants versus Paragons, with the Corsairs balancing the sides out and Anole from Alpha Squadron playing goalie for the Paragons. The New Mutants a seven-person squad due to Rockslide and Mercury being the 6th and 7th members which meant only one extra person was needed. Prodigy had worked out a good plan to play the game, but the Stepford Cuckoos were with the Paragons and telepathically coordinating their entire tea. The game wasn't that easy compared to their last victory when Nori had scored four goals by half time against the Hurricanes, Storm's squad. Mercury played goal to allow maximum coverage by stretching her liquid metal body for massive coverage that kept a lot of balls out of net. Surge led the scoring effort, with Wind Dancer and Specter to each side of her to fly over or move right through anyone blocking them while Surge moved the ball at superhuman speed. Anole was quick and agile in net, but Surge's sudden bursts of speed and Wind Dancer and Specter always in a good position for a pass, gave them a two-goal lead by the first half. It upset Match, the team leader thought that Preview's precognition would give them the edge, but there was a difference between knowing what happens and being able to do anything about it she tried to explain.

The sound was a thunderclap as Julian suddenly tore down and hovered in the centre of the field floating in a telekinetic shield in case the old cliché occurred and there was a big fight before anything was said.

"I need to talk to one of the X-Men, mutants are in trouble and I need their help to save them." Julian yelled as he kept his telekinetic shield up.

The students were looking at him, he saw surprised looks from his former rivals the New Mutants and saw something surprising. Cessily and Santo were now members of the squad. Both of them seemed a bit frozen at seeing their former friend return.

_Do not worry children, if Mr. Keller has decided to bring trouble to our doorstep I will deal with it. Mr. Keller, you were warned never to set food on school property again without there being severe consequences._ _You had better not have brought any problems with you either nor be seeking asylum. _Julian heard in his head and noticed that everyone else had that look on their face when Miss Frost was speaking telepathically to everyone. Julian then noticed that Frost was sitting with Cyclops and had been watching the students play. Still, he had his powers working, while the psi-blockers were probably protecting the rest of it, it appeared Miss Frost was powerful enough to at least send him telepathic messages.

"Well you weren't picking up the fucking phone long enough to listen so here I am. No one's out to get me and I would never bring my own problems here. I've come to say what I have to say and if after I've said it you still want to toss me to SHIELD or whoever that's fuckin' fine with me. You are going to listen though, what I have to say concerns the freedom of over a hundred mutants and I'm not leaving or moving from this spot until you agree to hear me out. You want to make a fight of it before you listen to me, that's fine too but I am very pissed off and I've gotten a lot better at using my powers since I left, I won't go down easy." Julian spoke in the loud, commanding voice he used to lead the Hellions with, it was uncomfortable doing so.

Julian was making sure everyone heard him, he didn't want a private mental conversation between him and his pissed off former mentor going on. He needed to make sure enough people listened for someone to wonder if he was telling the truth.

_You are a criminal Mr. Keller and you have spurned the opportunities we gave you when many thought you deserved to be thrown out of here without any consideration. The Institute will not tolerate you threatening violence nor will we give you assistance with whatever scam you have invented to try and sneak your way back in._ Frost continued to berate him subconsciously, Julian wasn't going to take any such abuse.

"I may be a criminal but I still have a conscience and I know my duty to my fellow mutants. We look after each other when no else will because people get to drive around with bumper stickers saying Genosha was a good start and get less shit than people flying Confederate flags. You want to throw me to SHIELD get in line, my parents are waiting to do it the minute they think SHIELD's on to them using me to knock out the competition, that's how much loyalty they feel to their own son who's a mutant. I am trying to do the right thing and you can't take two fucking minutes to listen to what I have to say? Do you know what I found and not a single one of you had any about? There's a sick bastard who's keeping over a hundred mutant girls as sex slaves and selling them to anyone who pays for it! This miserable fuck has got them so brainwashed that they walk around like zombies waiting for the next sick bastard to have his way with them and than thank him for doing it! You want to throw me out of here fine, but you're getting a fucking fight before you do because I'm not going anywhere until you listen to what I have to say!" Julian shouted, throwing all his cards on the table and making sure everyone heard it.

Julian thought someone had to listen, some of them knew him well enough to know he'd do anything to protect his fellow mutants.

_Impassioned speech aside Mr. Keller, you are hardly a trustworthy person and may be looking for refuge after crossing the wrong people in your criminal undertakings. That would seem more likely than you've discovered some underground sex ring that we couldn't know about. We are the X-Men and you're a boy who couldn't take responsibility for what he did._ Julian burned at that last remark, he wasn't going to take some jibe he hadn't been trying to make up somehow for his mistakes.

"All I've done since I that day is take responsibility for what happened! I wear the scar where I nearly died to remind myself what happened because I didn't follow orders. I've got Kevin's, Brian's, Sooraya's and Jay's initials tattooed over my heart so I remind myself of who died every day in the mirror because I couldn't control myself." Julian yelled, actually ripping his shirt open and pointing to his tattoo.

"I left here because I wasn't going to walk through the school and make Nori, David, Laurie, Josh and Sofia see me walk around alive while Jay had died because of what I did! I wasn't going to hang around and make Santo and Cessily look at their so-called leader who got their three best friends killed and managed to survive! I left here because even if I knew I did all you asked of me I didn't deserve to ever be an X-Man after what I did! I have the letters you had me write their families up on my wall to remind myself of what happened! I know what I did and I have never let myself forget it for even a moment! You want to know the truth, agree in front of everyone here to listen to what I have to say and if you wan the ultimate proof to what I'm saying, look in my head! You ignore me, over hundred girls get raped today and for years to come because you couldn't take two minutes to listen to me when I never fucking lied to you once in my entire life!" Julian finished, catching his breath as he kept building up his forcefield in case he did have to fight.

_Very well Mr. Keller, since you seem to be so adamant about this we will listen to what you have to say and examine your proof. However, if you are using us as a shield against an enemy you have made, I do promise you that your punishment before we turn you over to the authorities will be far worse than anything the courts could possibly do to you. If you would power down, you will have you case heard. _Frost telepathically told him but he had no idea if the other students heard that.

"The last part, out loud, no proof you actually included anyone else in on that part. Everyone hears it, right now and no telling everyone of them to say they already did. If you say you read my mind and I say you didn't because you say I'm lying I want the Cuckoos to scan my head as well, I won't argue with that because I know they still don't like you very much. If not, it's a fight until you all beat me to death because I'm not stopping until someone listens to me." Julian said crossing his arms, his eyes blazing with every bit of telekinetic energy he could muster.

"Very well. Mr. Keller, if you will power down your telekinesis, we will listen to what you have to say, what evidence you have and I will examine your mind for the truth of what you have to say. I do remind you, you can also leave here right now and avoid whatever trouble you are in if you are trying to avoid. If this is a deception on your part, I will make your punishment before you are handed over to law enforcement seem mild to what you receive in front of a judge." Frost said out loud, Julian noticed the expressions on student's faces, they'd heard it.

"You've got a deal." Julian said as he took down his shield and let his arms hang loosely at his sides.

"Rockslide, take your former squad leader inside to the detention cells while we discuss what to do with our guest." Emma Frost said nodding to one of the New Mutants members, Rockslide nodded and pushed Julian along, not even mentioning a word to his former friend.

_I did see something in his mind though even with his psi-blocker, Scott, call Logan and Hank in to join us, then get together whoever is available for a mission, our wayward pupil actually may be telling the truth. _Frost said telepathically to Cyclops who nodded, then told the students to keep playing, although most of them now seemed distracted by the return of Hellion.

* * *

Julian sat in his detention cell and tried to fire up his telekinesis, but it wouldn't come. Whatever was about these cells, they seemed to neutralize mutant powers effectively when set up for it. His first set of visitors was not a happy reunion, Mercury and Rockslide were standing together, apparently Santo had found something to say.

"If you want an apology it's not going to make anyone pop back to life. I've tried that often enough. You want a fight, we can settle up when I'm done what I came here to do. You want anything else, you're wasting your time." Julian said as he paced his cell and again, tried to fire up his TK.

"Why'd you leave?" Cessily asked, Julian scowled, did she have amnesia?

The Hellions fell because he was an idiot, Rockslide had survived because he had powers he didn't know about, Cessily had gone on a killing spree during the battle when she went mad with grief.

"three dead, two left, I figured you two would have a better chance of survival without my being around. They're gone because I thought I was better than I was, that nothing could happen to us as long as I was in charge. You two are lucky to be alive." Julian said as he kept his back to them, he didn't need to see their faces anymore, he saw them in his nightmares, dying.

"Dude you suck, there were like a hundred dead X-Men before we even got here and you quit because those Purifier jerks got a few of us? You kicked their fucking asses' man, I saw it when I was trying to get myself back together. We didn't just walk in there and get killed! What happened to you running this place in ten years?" Santo said in his usual Santo train of thought.

"Cyclops never got four of his own teammates killed in five minutes because he was impatient, neither did anyone else here until I showed up. It's a called a Pyrrhic victory Santo, you lose so much winning that you really lost. Even if I'd stayed, you think they would've made me an X-Man? You nearly died, everyone else is dead. Hellions died that day under Hellion, Jay could have written a song about it, but wait, he's dead. I was going to give a bunch of stupid flight classes for the rest of my life probably and give a monthly lecture on how not to be like me. I decided to get away, be alone, that way no one else would die because I wanted to be the big hero." Julian replied as he thought again of that day and shuddered.

"I needed you Julian, I couldn't deal with what happened after they died, especially Kevin, you knew how much I cared about him. Rockslide was trying to hold himself together long enough to figure out his powers, I didn't know what was going on, the next thing Miss Frost tells me is that you're gone and you're never coming back. You abandoned me Julian, I didn't have anything left, and it was a whole month before I could pull myself together again. I haven't been able to sleep through the night since that day and you've just been running around like a criminal since you left, that's what Miss Frost told me, WHY DID YOU LEAVE US?" Cessily said pounding her fists on the detention cell.

"That will be quite enough Miss Kincaid, if his presence upsets you so much, I assure you he will be leaving shortly in any circumstance. Dismissed." Miss Frost said as Rockslide and Cessily reluctantly shuffled off, Rockslide muttered 'loser' under his breath as they went by.

"So, you going to toss me to the feds or hear me out?" Julian asked as Miss Frost met his gaze.

"You seem quite determined about this matter and the video recording you provided along with the notebooks does give certain credibility to your story. I've decided to read your mind and find out the truth, be warned if this is a trick, I will leave you with the authorities, but I will wipe every happy thought from your memory before I do so." Frost warned as she looked him over and gave him a cold stare.

"Not many of those up here, do your worst." Julian shrugged as he felt his mind being ripped open and he blacked out.

He woke up standing next to Miss Frost in one of his memories of the Club.

"Well well well, what have you been up to you my former pupil?" Emma Frost chided him as she watched him get a treatment from one of the Inducers.

"I was doing a few things here and there to mess people up who went after mutants and that was what got me started. These guys were trying to kidnap this mutant girl, she couldn't have been more than fifteen years old. I stopped them and threatened them from fifty stories up they'd go splat if they didn't explain why they wanted to take her, they told me about The Club. I figured I might as well check out what was going and it wasn't hard to figure out it's a sex slavery ring. They abduct mutant girls who have powers that make them …useful for this kind of thing. The place is high-priced and the big-time VIP 'clients' like I pretended to be pay two million a month to go there. Problem is, I don't know where it is in the world they use teleporters to bring everyone there. It could be in Alaska, South Africa, Siberia, somewhere in America, just don't know. From what I've learned, it's an underground bunker and likely abandoned and remodeled for their use. I figured if you couldn't break into the minds of one of their mutant teleporters, you could at least find out where they are on Earth by sending me back in there and scanning for my mind." Julian explained as they stood in one of his memories of The Club, standing around in one of the lounges as an Inducer propositioned him.

"You could have told us about this sooner, you've got two months worth of memories here." Frost said disapprovingly.

"I tried, you kind of kept hanging up whenever I called and figuring I was trying to hide from SHIELD or someone else. I couldn't take the risk of coming to you and you not throwing me to the cops if you didn't believe what I said. You should have known I wouldn't have become begging just to save my own skin, this is important. They've broken these girls down into obedient slaves, they just take them and turn them into toys for their rich clients to use. I tried to get inside help at first but it didn't work out well, some of these women are willing participants, they like it there and like being in control of the slaves. The slaves that were there, they've been broken or are about to be broken down and would think an offer of escape is just another test that will mean more punishment. This mutant calling himself King runs the place, he's a powerful enough telepath to plant commands in their head that prevent escapes. He's got another mutant who can shut off their abilities at close range and make them stay off, those girls are all helpless. He also has those Elite women who are actually helping him run the place use their pleasure-inducing powers to addict the slaves to them to keep them obedient. The Club has enough muscle I couldn't get it done on my own. I needed evidence, I needed someone who could tell me what really goes on behind closed doors so I could convince you what was going on. That's how I met Laura." Julian said as picture of her came up, head only, Julian didn't want to have her shown in such humiliating clothing in front Miss Frost.

"The resistance in her eyes was there, she was unhappy with what she was. I could tell she was my only chance for inside help so I made the only move I could make. I told them I was going to take her for myself to make sure no one else touched her. I got her to trust me and she got me a lot of information, number of guards, number of girls who work a shift, which ones are actually running the place and those who are so brainwashed they might actually help fight an effort to rescue them. She figured out the place was a bunker by the layout and the ventilation system, I think she was into some other stuff before she was taken the way she figured it out." Julian talked about Laura, explaining how he'd met her and what she'd done to help him.

"It's all here, what they do with the girls, how they do it and how often they do it. Laura told me she's strong and can hold out but I don't know for much longer. I set it up so no one else was allowed to touch her, but they still keep brainwashing her a little bit every day, making sure he's completely obedient and submissive." Julian said as he pointed to other memories flashing by.

"You're the only chance these girls have, SHIELD doesn't care, flatscan politicians aren't sticking their necks out for a bunch of mutants and that's the more pleasant side of it. FBI and Police are bought off or don't care, some higher-ups are probably taking 'compensation' as their bribe. This place won't go away unless mutants make them stop. I've been a selfish jerk since I came here and I only got worse than I left, when I saw what was happening here I knew I had to do something. So do something." Julian said waving his arm at all the faces that flew past them as he thought of all the girls he'd tried to help but had failed to.

"Well Scott, Hank, Logan, what do you think?" Emma asked as three more figures stepped into view, Cyclops, Beast and Wolverine. If they were on board, he would finally have a chance to make things right for a change.

"Kid ain't dumb enough to come here just to get tossed in jail. I say you give me ten minutes with these bastards in a dark room, then let the kid here have his turn for helping us find them." Wolverine said, pulling his hood on.

"The boy does seem remarkably invested in and he is correct, these are our fellow mutants and the X-Men are the only real option they have to get free." Beast said as he observed, being inside someone else's mind was a bit unsettling, especially a scene such as this.

"I don't like you, I thought you were a cocky jock waiting to burn out, then you did it and it cost four students their lives. Then you just proved I was right when you walked away when we gave you a second chance when we shouldn't have looked twice in your direction. Now, I think you're trying to make good for the mistakes you make and think all will be forgiven. Well it won't be that easy, but I can tell that you're serious and Emma can tell your memories are genuine. If you'll give us all you have, we'll make this happen. On one condition, you are not part of the rescue team." Cyclops coldly dressed him down and told him the conditions of their assistance Julian was ready to burst at that, but calmed himself down, _won't help Laura. _

"Fine, but if you mess this up, we're having words when this is done. Not one person here is going to save you from me either, I will get out of my cell and beat you to death with my bare hands." Julian threatened folding his arms and meeting Cyclops's ruby red stare.

"Emma, I'll be assembling a strike team, let me know when you find something with Cerebra." Cyclops told Emma as Beast, Wolverine and Cyclops faded from view.

"Thanks for not showing them the other memories." Julian said appreciatively, realizing she had skipped over his more intimate relations with Laura.

"It would not have helped anything, your methods was crude but you were desperate and I can tell you care for the girl. You feel guilty you couldn't do more until now and you willingly threw yourself on our mercy to make sure she would be safe. You're a better man than you thought were Mr. Keller, a lesser one would have just given up." Emma said as he found himself blacking out again, then waking up in his cell.

* * *

Extra Note: Yeah, I know Soccer doesn't have that kind of scoring generally but I'd say Mutant abilities kinda open it up.

- Additional: Wolverine does recognize Laura, but he doesn't want anyone to know yet.


	10. Rescue

Disclaimer: Writer not affiliated with Marvel in any way, shape or form, characters and original settings all belong to Marvel Comics. Just wanted to finally give these two a chance, been rooting for them since they met in New X-Men. Now let's all write Craig Kyle and Chris Yost and tell them to give these two a break in the comics, I think we can all agree they both deserve it!

Timeline Notes: M-Day has not happened in this timeline, nor did Laura/X-23 take part in joining the characters of NYX, but her personal timeline before NYX is intact. Claremont's X-Men run and by extension and the events in New X-Men have not involved Laura Kinney at all. Similarly, events that became possible by M-Day such as Civil War, Messiah Complex and Secret Invasion will not have occurred. (Mass mutant rebellion against Registration would have fielded advantage to the Anti-Registration side after all). Julian Keller has left the Xavier Institute approximately one year before the story takes place, but the Hellions Mini and his activity in New Mutants Volume 2 and New X-Men: Academy X have all taken place.

Character Notes: Estimating Julian to be 17 years old at the time of this and Laura to be about 16 years old given Comic timelines move in strange and mysterious ways and characters are suddenly younger and older for no reason. Maintaining Laura's tendency of not using contractions and slang when she talks as seen in New X-Men and X-Force. Also taking my best guess on Laura's personality in this time line and how it would evolve over time.

Note for "M" Label: Contains strong language, strong sexual themes with some graphic description in certain chapters with intermittent violence and some scenes of torture. Not for younger readers of course, but it's the internet and I doubt anyone's taking maturity labels seriously… Read entire chapters before judging please, nothing's written without purpose.

Chapter Ten: Rescue

"What have you found?" Cyclops asked as Emma exited the Cerebra room with the Stepford Cuckoos..

_I initiated a full-scan with the help of the girls here and we searched for any massed concentration of mutant signatures in a confined area such as Hellion suggested they were being kept. There was no positive match or at least one outside X-Corporation sites or other such mutant communes or mutant gathering places we knew about. We then started searching the opposite way, looking for where we just couldn't find something because there was interference and we found a strong match for what Hellion had described as the location. Government and SHIELD bunkers have a specific set of psychic dampening devices that work with a distinct frequency, this location did not. It was different, it was much sloppier especially considering it was based in this country. The bunker is in South Dakota, very deep and likely a former government fallout shelter that was decommissioned for one reason or another. The girls and I worked even further on this, there was a notable psychic presence and a large group of mutants, but we had to pull back before we were detected. While from what Hellion has told me that this piece of filth who thinks himself royalty with his name has a potent psychic ability, I got a sense of his power level as well. I'm going to break that man's mind up in to so many pieces he won't remember how to use a toilet, he's not nearly enough to give me trouble_. Emma informed Scott through her psychic link with him, she silently thought of all the ways he could break this beast King's mind into a thousand tiny shards.

_That will be all girls, please do not speak of what we discovered either, I do not need any foolish attempts to steal a Blackbird and effect a rescue to complicate my day or Cyclops's. _Emma psychically told the Cuckoos who walked off, talking in their hive mind to another Emma could sense about what would likely happen to Julian now that he had been proven right.

_It would be unwise of me to push any further than I did so I could make sure these animals did not notice I had found them. It seems we will have to go with the estimates Hellion gave us of likely client presence and his count of the number of slaves and staff inside. These people are probably not capable of dealing with a trained force like the X-Men but with only us, Wolverine, Beast, Northstar and Nightcrawler available, I think we will have to draw on the training squads to fill out our numbers. Time is of the essence here, Julian mentioned he was not sure if this girl Laura's mind was well-guarded enough to hid her intentions forever from the telepath controlling the operation. If Hellion were away long enough, this King character might start scanning the girl's mind to find out what she's been doing. Hellion has also insisted that if we cannot affect a rescue soon, we must allow him to return as to not arouse suspicions and give the poor girl some respite from her torture sessions and prevent them from breaking her will_. Emma continued in her psychic voice with Scott, she did not want any eavesdropping students listening on their conversation especially considering the sensitivity of the matter.

Hellion had been methodical enough to gather as much information as he could to try and ensure a successful rescue operation could be carried out by the X-Men. School discipline and the training squads had been strictly maintained, but the students had maintained most of it themselves after the Purifier attack that had seen her own Hellions squad nearly annihilated. Still Emma could not risk a repeat of The Hellions Going To Hell, which was what some students told the story as when they thought no teachers were listening.

The Purifier assault had been massive and could have killed far more students had the training squads not done their jobs, nor had Havoc's team of X-Men returned just in time to reinforce them when the attack came. Emma had been concentrating on psychically coordinating both Scott and his brother Alex's teams together for maximum effectiveness when she heard the psychic cries of her Hellions when they started dying. Hellion's attack had been foolhardy and ignored Cyclops's orders and probably caused the four deaths, but the X-Men had been fortunate to escape such a battle with such a thing. While it was something of a joke among the senior X-Men that they would 'get better' and come back if they were thought to be dead, X-Men did die and the battle had not been going as well they could have hoped. The Stepford Cuckoos were trying to use Cerebra to attack the minds of the Purifiers, but they had technology to block it.

Hellion's bloodlust and his raging telekinetic assault next to Mercury's mad killing spree upon anyone not wearing an X-uniform had actually turned the tide of the fight. Emma knew Hellion had great potential with his telekinetic abilities but the boy had actually broken the limits in his own mind governing the use of his power and unleashed a neon-green torrent of destruction on any Purifier he saw. The two standing Hellions had broken the left flank of the Purifier's forces when their friends had died around them and they kept fighting. That had started a chain reaction that turned the time of the battle, with the New Mutants delivering the final blow that forced the retreating Purifiers to slam directly in to the main force and cause mass confusion.

It allowed the X-Men to wrap up the battle, as the Avengers and SHIELD conveniently managed to arrive too late to help when their call for help had gone out. Emma Frost gave the Avengers a psychic replay of the battle and the dying moments of her students. That had shocked them as they tried to apologize for arriving too late, Emma coldly told them that half of them had gone looking for the power they had and were loved for it, these children had been murdered for being born. Ms. Marvel tried to explain whey they had arrived late, but Emma didn't care to listen, she then fed all the Avengers the last image Emma had from when she saw Genosha burn. That had caused quite a stir among them and created a very cold reception between the two groups since then. Wolverine who had been working with the Avengers on and off had told them to get fucked when they asked him to keep working with their team.

"_We die just as much if not more than you Avengers do and you know what? You guys get state funerals and statues, national days of mourning and you know what happens to mutants? Fuck all, there was more time spent talking about what the Wasp's new fashion line than which X-Men were killed when we were busying saving humans from Magneto. Four kids are dead and two of them are being picked up in little plastic bags killed by religious whackos who think they're doing God's will! There's going to be more heat on us for killing some of these bastards than there will be on them for trying to burn this place down and murder every kid here!" _Wolverine had barked at Iron Man with his claws ready to plow through his armour if he said the wrong thing about that.

Cyclops had managed to calm everyone down before another fight broke out, this time Avengers versus X-Men. The Avengers said they would work with SHIELD to track down as many Purifiers they could and get justice for this. Over a hundred Purifiers were captured, only seventeen ever faced trial and just three had convictions, typical human justice the X-Men had publicly stated for an assault on mutant children. The Avengers had publicly called it a miscarriage of justice despite the animosity the X-Men now had for them, they had wanted to prove that there could be justice delivered .The X-Men were becoming more divorced with their fellows in the superhero community finally boiled over after years of being treated as the disposable, reviled substitute heroes of the entire nation. The Avengers statement didn't help, Purifier recruitment increased when it was publicly revealed that over a hundred Purifiers had been killed and another one hundred suffered permanent, crippling injuries while just four mutants had died during their attack. It had seemed that people thought they needed to gather in even larger numbers to attack mutants, anti-mutant hate crimes doubled for the next six months, finally coming down just as Hellion had now returned to the Institute.

Emma had almost given up at that point on maintaining her role as Headmistress of the Institute. Her star pupil Hellion who was hand-picked by her in her mind to one day replace Scott as the X-Men's field leader with his Hellion teammates at his side. Emma had fought hard for Julian, charmed, threatened, cajoled and even begged as many X-Men and faculty as she could for leniency on his brash actions. Cyclops had been unmovable on the situation himself, still believing Hellion unsuited to ever wear the X-uniform and had demanded if he stay to lay on serious restrictions on the boy's activities. Julian had seemed repentant and wanted to make amends, he had not attempted to blame anyone for what had happened and seemed to accept the conditions of his stay. Emma did not read the speech he gave to the students before he read it, knowing the boy's outward broadcasts of thoughts indicated how he would present himself. Then he left, flying off into the night and throwing away what she had worked so hard to give him, a second chance. Emma knew he had been upset and unable to face his remaining friends and the New Mutants or near anyone else, he'd even refused to see her when she tried to talk to him. Emma had wanted him to stay at least long enough to help him with psychic therapy to handle his likely survivor's guilt and post-traumatic stress issues. Julian had taken out a wall of his room while sleeping the second night after the Purifier attack from a nightmare and done other property damage when sleeping or startled. Julian had also refused to fight Nori Ashida when she attacked him twice, trying to provoke a fight so she could release some of her anger over the death of Jay Guthrie. They'd had to separate him from the student body to prevent any more incidents at that point.

"_I don't like it, we're having to rely solely on his information for this. The last time people's lives depended on him it did not end well. I also can't risk letting him loose, he might go back there and do something stupid if he thinks we're taking too long." _ Cyclops continued the silent conversation, reminding her what would happen if the boy suddenly panicked if he returned to The Club and did something foolish

"_You give Hellion far too little credit, he managed to infiltrate them for two months and never made anyone think he wasn't another loyal 'customer'. Although I do agree, given his emotional state and how he feels about the girl he might behave desperately if he thinks we are moving too slowly. He could even suddenly King everything he's earned from his criminal activities to buy the girl's freedom and that could ruin everything he's tried to do, such a thing would be high suspicious." _Emma thought back at him reminding Cyclops Julian had worked very hard to get the information they now had, but agreed Julian was a dangerous quantity to send back to The Club in his current state. Emma could see his lingering psychological issues from the Purifier attack still haunted him.

"_You shouldn't hold anything over the New Mutants for how Hellion acted last year. They're far better now Scott, The New Mutants are practically field ready, Prodigy and Wind Dancer can easily organize a strong support team for us. They've been undefeated in Field Day exercises for a year, they train against regular X-Men in the Danger Room. Everyone else is on assignment or unavailable."_ Emma reminded him of the effectiveness of the New Mutants.

"_You're right, but Hellion stays here and that is non-negotiable. I know you're still fond of him Emma or you'd already have handed him over to SHIELD by now. He's too close to this and he doesn't know how to follow orders. This is too dangerous for cowboy antics."_ Cyclops relented, the added strength and crowd control ability of the New Mutants would make the mission a success, now they needed a way in.

* * *

"How does the teleportation system work?" Beast asked as Julian sat at the back of his cell.

"I call, I say I want a pick up at X time, bam I'm there. I don't really ask questions. You really shouldn't either if you're trying to infiltrate a place like that." Julian shrugged as he explained it.

"Interesting, you said the phone number is unique?" Beast asked as he scratched off two ideas on his pad of paper.

"thirteen digits, I know, phone numbers that length don't exist, this one does." Julian added as he got up and started pacing the cell.

"Interesting, a unique phone number, tagged to a specific frequency no doubt. The teleporter can lock onto this number and pull whoever is calling from anywhere in the world to The Club, correct?" Beast surmised as he analyzed the possibilities.

"Anywhere, even in mid air. Sometimes I called them while flying." Julian mentioned, if Beast was to pull this off he needed to know everything.

"Well, if that's the case then it shouldn't be difficult, only Clients have this number correct?" Beast went on, building the possible effort to mount the rescue operation by co-opting The Club's own teleporters against them.

"That's how it works but I don't know if everyone has a specific number. They could be all different thirteen digit numbers to make sure they don't get passed around. You don't exactly go swapping phone numbers there or even talk to the other people there, you're there for yourself." Julian said, trying to explain that this was had been the real problem all along, getting in.

"Well I'm sure I can start scanning for these frequencies that these phone numbers are dialing to, if I can isolate more than one, I'll have to devise something more elaborate. Never fear young man, I have tackled far greater problems than this in my time. In the meantime, I'll see if I can convince Cyclops to allow a television, or failing that, a deck of cards." Beast said she headed off, making more calculations for what would be needed.

* * *

"I couldn't believe it when I saw you." Julian heard and turned around, Sofia. His on again, off again crush that had never gone anywhere. He knew it had been his own fault, he'd been an ass to everyone who didn't follow his lead or he didn't find hot and that had been who he was.

"You look good." Julian offered, looking her over, but found his thoughts drifting back to Laura. _Forget it, she's never going to want to see us after this is done, you want to see her again, you'll have to be there when they hit the place. That won't happen either, you're in here until it's done probably. _

"Is it true what you said on the field?" Sofia asked as Julian just brooded, she wore her New Mutants uniform, it still stung him to this day that they had been the ones to save his life.

"Ask the teachers, I'm just here for a little peace and quiet." Julian replied as he sat down on the cot and lay down.

"Does it have something to do with the mission briefing my team's been called in for?" Sofia went further and caught his eye as he sat up in notice to that.

"Can't say, I'm just a humble inmate waiting for clemency." Julian replied as he lay back down and decided to play it cool, he did not need Sofia to know what he'd been doing since he left, and with whom. He knew it was over with her, but it was embarrassing and none of her business.

"Dammit Julian, the last two Hellions are on my squad now! You want anything to be left of them you'd damn well better tell me what they're getting into!" Sofia said pounding the glass between her and Julian.

"If you're going anywhere, Cyclops will tell you all you need to know. And really, throwing Santo and Cess at me? Low blow. You're the better team and they're the best friends I ever had, you take care of each other and it will all work out." Julian replied as he tried not to give anything away.

"That's something I never expected to hear from you." Julian looked up to see Sofia's co-leader, David Alleyne, Prodigy.

"Don't try and get in my mind four-eyes, I will just sing dirty limericks in here until you go nuts." Said Julian, but he knew it was probably a pointless attempt.

"You got it?" Sofia asked, David nodded.

"Julian, what have you gotten yourself into?" David asked Julian, he started to scribble a note, seemingly trying to get written verification of the knowledge he had just taken from him.

"You mention a fucking word to anyone what you just got and I will bust out of here and break you in half! Nori, the New Mutants, the whole damn school won't be to protect you mention what you know to ANYONE!" Julian snapped as he pounded the wall of his cell.

"What does he know David?" Sofia asked, then they suddenly seemed to cock their heads, Julian knew that, Emma Frost was in their heads.

_Children, you will respect Mr. Keller's privacy. You are being chosen for a special mission that requires your assistance to help a group of captive mutants Hellion discovered whiled engaged in other activities. Mr. Alleyne, what you may or may not have discovered is not your right to know and if you need information for the mission you will receive all necessary details. Furthermore, you are expressly forbidden from discussing with your teammates and that includes your girlfriend what you unfairly stole from Mr. Keller's mind. Destroy your notes and do not mention it again, this situation goes well beyond your understanding and you can not grasp the whole situation with your ability. I apologize Julian, I should have told all school telepaths of any kind your mind was strictly off-limits._

"Thank you Miss Frost." Julian said out loud as he looked right at David, who quickly tore up the note he had just wrote.

_The privacy of one's thoughts is important Mr. Keller, you willingly exposed your misdeeds and shame to help others but that was a willing move on your part. Mr. Alleyne, I expected better from the co-leader of the school's premiere training squad._

"I'm sorry Julian but I was desperate to know what was going on. You almost got your entire team killed Julian, I did not want whatever you're mixed up in get any of the New Mutants killed." Sofia said as Julian lowered his head and seethed.

"One's got nothing to do with the other. I didn't create the problem I found, I was the wrong man in the wrong situation and I came here because the X-Men are the only people who can make this right. You want be New Mutants, go ahead and help some people who really need it. You want to gloat about how the self-absorbed Hellion was the biggest joke in school history, hang around here." Julian said as he turned his back, Sofia and David left together. He received no more visitors, from his former schoolmates.

With his having seen Santo, Cessily, Sofia and David, perhaps Josh, Laurie and Nori were left and he did not need to confront any of them. The school had been a depressing place literally the entire time he remained at the Institute because of Laurie having trouble with her grief. Josh probably would have found time to take a swing at him Julian suspected if he had probably not spent his time comforting Laurie. Nori, well he figured one way or another, they would be crossing paths before all of this was done.

That was not the end of his visits either, he had one more but not from someone he expected, he was half asleep when he got that visit.

* * *

"Keller, wake up!" Julian awoke to see Wolverine standing in front of him.

"Can I help you?" Julian asked yawning.

"I've killed the surveillance and the door's locked, you and I are going to have a little chat about Laura Kinney." Wolverine said jerking his thumb to the surveillance cameras.

"Why? What's it to you?" Julian asked, wondering what Wolverine wanted to know.

This wasn't really Wolverine's style as far as Julian knew. Wanting to know about Julian's inside contact in The Club was a bit strange.

"I know her and that stays in here. No one knows that and no one will know that until I say otherwise. Has she told you anything about her past or that she knew me?" Wolverine said in his usual growl as Julian thought about how Wolverine might know her.

Julian knew their powers were similar, as Laura was a self-healer, but that couldn't be that uncommon in the whole world. That and Laura was completely hot and Wolverine was a short and very hairy guy, cut out a likely family connection.

"She hasn't told me a thing about her past, she said she'd like to if I do get her out of there. I know she's got to have been mixed up in something, she was a lot better at planning the escape and getting me information than I was by a long shot. Did you get her out of whatever she was in to? Laura never mentioned she knew you, I thought I saw her recognize you like she knew you when I mentioned your name but she's …odd and I can't always read her that well." Julian explained what he knew, that he didn't know Laura's past or that she had any connection to Wolverine.

"Wish I could say I really could have helped her out but I think I was too late on that account. She hasn't told you what she's been in to I'm not saying anything, that's her right to tell you and not mine." Wolverine seemed to sound more regretful than before, like he wished he could have saved Laura from what she had gone through.

"If you two know each other, why didn't she just tell me to talk to you directly so we could get something worked out?" Julian asked, wondering why Laura had kept her knowing Wolverine personally to herself.

"That's easy, because she thinks I'd fly off the handle and slash my way through half the underworld until I found The Club, then slash my way through there. Might work, but it probably wouldn't and I'd never actually infiltrate The Club while they moved it somewhere else. I can't say I wouldn't do that if you'd told me about the place, I'd want to hack them to pieces. Laura did what she thought would be best to ensure her rescue and that was give you all the information she could get so we could tear into the place and bring it down and get all the girls out. She trusts you kid, not an easy thing to gain with her." Wolverine talked about why Laura had cut him out of their plan to ask for help, mainly that she didn't trust him not to make the situation worse.

"I have to ask, did you touch her?" Wolverine suddenly locked eyes with Julian, Julian swallowed and knew he couldn't lie.

"Yes, we had some problems maintaining our cover, she suggested we well… you know to make everything look normal. I never felt like such shit in my life though besides well, you know. The worst part was it felt so _good_, she was just so hot my body couldn't help but like it, even if I hated myself in the process. I can't stop hating myself either because I was the idiot causing us the problems, I was being a fucking dumbass about stuff and it caused the trouble. Promised her I'd never do anything with her and I broke that promise. It seems I am reliable for one thing, to be unreliable to those who need my help." Julian said not looking away, he needed to keep eye contact with the man, let him know he meant it.

"You're lucky I can see you are sorry kid, or I'd probably open the door and take your manhood off right now. I know she's a pretty girl and that's hard for a kid your age to resist, but I know you weren't doing it intentionally, that ain't your kind and I know all kinds of people. You were in over your head but you were trying to help and you probably have saved those girls with what you've found out." Wolverine seemed to get calmer, Julian was glad, he wasn't sure even with his powers up he'd be safe from an enraged Wolverine.

"I just wanted to do the right thing, do something to make up for what I did. I know I can never take it back or make it go away, I'm going to be responsible for killing Kevin, Brian, Sooraya and Jay no matter what I do for the rest of my life. I was just tired of thinking every day that I could be defined by that single thing for my entire life, I knew some X-Men had done terrible things in the pasts and made amends for it. I wanted to do that, at least try to make the fact that I lived finally count for something." Julian said resting his head on the wall of his cell, thinking about how he had come to where he was now.

"Kid, yer gonna realize in a few years that what you did that day was bad, but it also coulda been worse. Yeah you made a mistake and people died, but you also didn't fall apart when it happened, you kept fighting and made sure they didn't die in vain. You won the fight for the X-Men that day, Cyclops will _never_ admit it but he knows it, we were not having an easy time before you went to town on those bastards. That was what had a few of us on your side, you lost your friends but you didn't lay down and wait to die, hell you kept fighting while you were dying. Mark of a man who won't be defeated and that's what we like to have around here, people who can't be beaten down by anything. The fact that you're here now trying to do something right after you feel like you failed and needed to make something right, just shows your will can't be broken. You don't believe that you shouldn't stop trying to be heroic just because you fucked it up once, if you did, you wouldn't be here now." Wolverine said as he saluted Julian's efforts then left him.

Julian thought about what Wolverine had said, and how he knew Laura. The possibilities were all over the place, he doubted she was his daughter, even if they were estranged he would've made sure she came to the Institute. Relative the same, Wolverine knew her somehow and cared enough that he was protective of her like a family member, but also knew about what kept her secretive of her past. Hopefully it all worked out, he wanted to know Laura Kinney as a person, and the mystery was driving him nuts. Julian didn't care if she reneged on her promise to tell him though, as long as she got to breathe free air along with the other girls, he'd take it. Julian Keller might not ever be an X-Man, but at least he could say he acted like one for once.

* * *

It took Beast four days to devise the system that would allow them to stage their rescue. Cyclops had tossed aside the idea of a forced assault into the bunker from the surface entrance, too many kinds of hidden alarms that could trip and allow King to use his teleporters to move his operation to another location. Beast first had to start tracking the rather unique frequencies The Club used to lock on to their clients and bring them in. Beast then began flipping through frequencies and gathering enough to be used, noting where they originated from and compiled a list of times and dates they were used until he had compiled twenty different numbers they could use and the usual times they were done. Beast also further intercepted these calls and recorded voice samples so that Beast could use a voice synthesizer to fake voice prints. The timing would have to be crucial, the initial strike team would have to take control of the situation fast. Emma, Cyclops and Wolverine were slated to go in as the first wave, they would cover Emma while she manipulated the teleporters once inside to respond to the next group of incoming calls, bringing in Northstar, Nightcrawler and Beast along with all of the New Mutants.

"Beast's managed to isolate enough different frequencies now that he knows what to look for thanks to Hellion's information for us to be teleported into the Club, as this location has been designated." Cyclops indicated on the holographic table to the gathered X-Men and New Mutants, based on the sketches provided by Julian of The Club's layout.

"Resistance will be difficult to gauge and we will have a high number of combatants and while most of them will not be able trained for this, we must watch our collateral damage carefully. The second problem will be is that Hellion's intelligence indicates that some of the captured slaves will be so brainwashed by their programming they may actually try to fight us. There are also the women who are seemingly helping the man named King who runs The Club operate it, they have very powerful abilities to inflict either pain or pleasure on a person in such quantities it might even put them into shock. Use caution when approaching any girl, the Elites as Hellion termed them may try to blend in and surprise you, or even take you as a hostage for a bargaining cheap. Physical contact should be avoided as much as possible to avoid such risks. These Inducers are capable of inflicting pain, pleasure or even sexual desire, with a full-strength contact, it might not be possible to restrain yourselves on that third measure."

"The man who runs The Club, King is a telepath who is at least class six, but not much more powerful than that. Hellion's keeping his powers boosted up kept his mind from being probed by King without effort that would let Hellion know King wanted to read his mind. King did not push this as I imagine he liked knowing what his clients were thinking, he did not want to risk one either by pushing the matter. Emma will neutralize him first, since she is easily powerful enough to read Hellion's mind even with his powers turned up, giving her a heavy advantage.. The clients The Club serves will be a mix of humans and mutants and that could actually be our most significant threat and risk of collateral damage, if a mutant can afford to come to that club is because he is either very rich, or has a very powerful ability that makes him rich They won't react and be careful of who gets caught in the crossfire, I will need you to take these threats down quickly for us to succeed. The guards will not be likely powerhouses, we suspect King does not want any real threat to his power base and that is why he is also the only powerful telepath there. The true primary target though is a power dampener called Switch, we are unsure about how long he disables mutant abilities, but he seems to be able to sense what powers you have and turn them off for a very long time. It could be possible he can permanently put a block on them so he will have to remain alive if these girls are to regain their powers if they have bee disabled by him. He will be the primary target, even if he disables our powers, we must strike immediately in case knocking him unconscious releases them. You've all had hand-to-hand combat training for such an event so use it." Cyclops threw up the picture Julian had taken of Switch at The Club.

"Also, Hellion added a last-minute warning in his notes about a certain woman working with The Club called Mistress. Mistress was termed what he called an Inducer, that is a woman who can directly stimulate pain or pleasure sensations in the human body. Her power is potent enough that with one touch she can almost certainly put someone under her control he told us. She always wears a red leather dominatrix outfit and has red hair and seems to have an exceptional taste for addicting people to her power and we have no idea how much she can manipulate that addiction so be advised." Cyclops said adding the last warning, they would need to move carefully and do their best to avoid physical contact with suspect prisoners as well as their captors.

"Do you know how Hellion has specific information about Mistress?" Sofia asked, curious about just want Julian had been doing when he found out about The Club.

"I don't think that's relevant Wind Dancer. Suffice to say Emma scanned to his mind and found he never forced himself on any woman being kept as a slave. He chose to have the Inducers like Mistress who were really part of The Club operations use their ability on him to maintain his cover. Hellion was then able to locate a recently kidnapped girl who he was able to claim as his own and then gained her trust by not touching her at all and convincing him he wanted to help her. His effort with her cooperation allowed them to gain the intelligence that will allow us to hit this place and put them out of business. Now, do you wish to continue to accuse a former classmate of being a perverted rapist or would you like to help free a hundred mutant girls from slavery? " Cyclops said sternly, Emma had filled him in on Julian's entire adventure in The Club telepathically, but had told him to keep it to himself.

"Julian isn't coming though? Didn't he give us all of this so we could help him do something about the place?" Santo asked, wondering why Julian was being left out.

"He found this place out, he couldn't do anything by himself about so he came to us for help. However considering his behaviour since he left the Institute and the events leading to his departure, we felt it would be wise to remove him from being involved in this." Cyclops said as he folded his arms.

"You heard him, get ready, we're leaving in fifteen minutes." Frost said and waved the New Mutants off as the X-Men fell around the table.

"I can not help but say Scott, it doesn't seem right leaving the boy locked up after what he risked going in to that place and what he risked to get us to help him." Northstar mentioned as Cyclops scowled.

"He's got a point Summers, this kid ain't gonna be right in the head until he tries to make something right after what he's done. I know from experience, kid needs to prove to himself he can be worth something." Wolverine said as he learned over the table.

"This isn't a democracy, Hellion stays where he is until I'm sure he won't get anyone else killed." Cyclops said and left waved the team off before they could protest further.

"Mein freund, you should consider your position. Zhis young man iz seeking to make peace with himzelf and hiz soul for hiz mistakes . Treating him like zhis will not make anything better." Nightcrawler said as he teleported upside down in front of Cyclops, hanging off the ceiling.

"He doesn't get a quick fix, he has to live with what he did the rest of his life and know he can't change it. That's what I've done, that's what all leaders do, he wants absolution with this for everything he did and has done and I'm not going to give it to him." Cyclops snapped.

"He iz not seeking forgiveness, he iz seeking to be a better man. He doesn't know how zhat is supposed to work and spending time in a cell while others risk zheir lives for what he tried to do himzelf will not accomplish anything." Nightcrawler said, then vanished in the usual puff of smoke.

* * *

It was four days since Laura had seen Julian, or she estimated and there was a routine while he wasn't there, a daily training session, resting in her cell doped by Angel Dust's pheromones then another training session when King determined Julian wouldn't be coming since he had decided Julian to be a man of strict habits for when he arrived and departed. Julian's lack of return which could be either good or bad depending upon whether he was helping organize a rescue or was rotting a prison cell. It was hard to keep track of time without seeing Julian and getting the time from him.

Laura was still resisting, but Mistress had a way of sinking in her claws. She'd picked up on her attraction to Julian and was using it against her. She'd kept it carefully guarded, but she'd felt a certain way when he was around, especially since he had promised to do anything he could to set her free. Their coupling had certainly filled in her physical attraction towards him and the natural desires her body itself had towards attractive males. There was something else that drew her to him though, but she couldn't quite place what it was. Mistress would feed her strong pleasure pulses while she mentioned 'her owner' and her slave words. Pain kept up her end, but Mistress was the one getting to her, pleasure was something she was unused to dealing with and it seemed so much easier to accept. Pain was easy to ignore for X-23, but she had never known any real pleasure. It was easier to accept, the idea of being in that room with Julian as he wanted her, when he wanted her. He was much more considerate with her body than anyone she'd sold herself to on the street and seemed to want to keep her happy.

That wasn't right she reminded herself, he wanted to free her from this place, let her be Laura Kinney again, she'd been Laura for only the smallest time in her life, she wanted it back. When it was just her and Julian in the room, she could be Laura. But she was also Doll, the act that was becoming her reality, the last two times she had seen Julian they had coupled and that was all she could really think about. She remembered about trying to mask her thoughts, but she can't remember why she had tried to do it so often. It was getting harder during Mistress's treatments to determine if she was X-23, Laura or just Doll. She hoped Julian would get back soon so he could remind her, strange, she remembered having to tell him what to do, but that couldn't be right, or could it?

Laura fell asleep after the session quickly, but at some point after, after being allowed a meal, she was yanked out of her bed once again and taken back by Mistress herself.

"I say, your owner must be quite busy not to have seen you for so long. He must be hard at work making sure he has enough money to keep enjoying you I suppose! After all, with what you and I did for him last time, I find it hard to believe he even wanted to leave!" Laura was dragged along by Mistress to her next session, quietly wishing Bliss would actually come back instead.

"Now tell me, what do does my good little Doll want to do for her owner?" Laura was stopped a few steps from the room where she would start her next session.

"Anything he wants, where he wants, when he wants. All that he wishes to do, I will do. That is what I am for, to be his Doll to play with as he likes." Laura said with her slave tone, she was feeling a bit more in control with her thought-masking process seemingly working. But still no power, no healing, no claws. If she could just unleash X-23 for five minutes she would end this all.

"Good little Doll, I'm glad to see your training is working so well. You're certainly one of the best pets I've ever had the fortune of working with, you understand the rules about how pleasure and pain are given. You've also let your slutty little desires for your owner's body make you a better pet. Bliss seemed to think you'd need a few more weeks to fully grasp your lessons but since you and I work so well together I'm sure I'll have you wet down below the second you hear your master's voice in less than a week." Mistress said and patted her forehead like a dog, then led her inside where she was once again strapped down and given the full treatment.

"Now let's remember little Doll, good little pets get lots of pleasure because they know that to obedience is ecstasy and disobedience is pain." Mistress whispered at first, then Pain had her hands on her at the moment the word disobedience was mentioned.

"Come now, remember, good little pets…" More pleasure pulses ran all over her body

"….Obey their owners…." More pulses rocked over her.

"….Owners with good pets…" More pulses, even more intense, it felt like she was back in that room with Julian.

"… Make them feel like this." Laura moaned as Mistress hit her with another strong wave of pleasure.

"You can go Pain, I think I can handle this one today. She seems to want it more than ever. I get enough time with this little Doll and she'll be sucking her master's cock for an hour if it means ten seconds of having him touch her." Mistress said as she tapped Laura's nose and sent a tiny jolt through her and Laura tried to hold on to the sensation.

Mistress returned to her work, giving her more elaborate conditioning than Bliss, centering it around making sure Laura's only concern was pleasing Julian in any way possible. Mistress also continued to suggest that Laura should beg for Julian to use Mistress every time to make her a better pet and make sure he got the best fucking he's ever had. Laura could never even think a differing thought, Mistress was keeping her completely intoxicated and unable to think clearly.

_She is making me an addict, no wonder she has all the girls scared of her. One mistake and no more pulses for them. _Laura thought as she realized this was worse than she thought, brainwashing was bad enough but another thing that could make her a mindless slave with no identity? She silently hoped her owner, _not my owner, Julian, _was coming soon.

* * *

"No way, he's in and I'm out and I'll make sure the rest of the New Mutants are. Jay's dead because of him and so are half of his old team, you want to give him the chance to kill the other half and mine?" Nori had her arms crossed in front of Julian's detention cell as Cyclops stared her down.

"I'm sorry if you thought I was asking your permission. I have spoken with Miss Frost on this and she is in agreement with me. With most available senior X-Men currently away on other assignments we need additional resources. The Club is a high-risk operation and with the risk that some of their people have towards us, Hellion's telekinetic abilities will give us an advantage. Only if he agrees to follow my orders though, to the letter." Cyclops dismissed Nori's protests about his decision at last to allow Hellion to take part in the rescue operation.

"That worked real well last time didn't it? Jay's dead, it happened because of him. Now he's trying to get back in here by being the hero and he's going to get my team killed!" Nori snapped as she rushed back and forth at super speed.

"Shut the fuck up Ashida, you have no idea why I'm doing this and it's certainly got nothing to do with trying to get back in here. I meant what I said when I came here, I'm standing up for my fellow mutants, you should be too. I have a stake in this because I am trying to do the right thing, do something right for a change. I thought's what this school was about, learning to do the right thing." Julian fired back from inside his cell and locked stares with the speedster/electric controller.

"Not up for discussion Surge, you can sit the mission out but that would only put your team in jeopardy and you know it. This situation is different and Hellion does have inside information and has actually seen the interior of our target location. His powers are formidable enough to give us a significant boost in protection if he is willing to follow my rules." Cyclops cut off her arguments.

"Ashida, we can settle up after we're done here. You want to keep on thinking I'm just that arrogant jerk who got your friend killed that's fine. You want to think I should be tossed in jail, fine with me. When we're done, when we've beaten the shit out of these bastards for what they're doing you want to drop the gloves, fine. We'll do it later when lives are not at stake and this time I will fight back. What do you want me to do?" Julian said to Nori, deciding that the best way to resolve this was to offer her a fight if she wanted one, but later when Laura's life wasn't in danger. What Cyclops wanted of him was a far more pressing concern.

"You stay in formation with the X-Men or New Mutants, wherever I tell you to go. Your one job is to shield your teammates, anyone tries to take them down, and you stop them. No doing anything else unless I give the order. No solo heroics, nothing that will make me regret putting you with this team and you keep yourself under control no matter what you might see. I don't need you flying off the handle on this one when we're going to be outnumbered and dealing with a massive rescue. You pull this off and you're free to go or we might reconsider your staying on at the Institute. You screw this team over and I will drop you outside SHIELD with a pretty little bow on you, clear?" Cyclops said as Julian walked out of his cell and powered his telekinesis up.

"Clear, let's get this over with." Julian nodded and followed Cyclops out to Beast's lab where the team was about to teleport into The Club. _I'm coming Laura. _

He almost thought about threatening Cyclops again about messing it up, but that might put him back in the cell so he held his tongue, barely. _Laura gets hurt because he fucks this up, I am gong after his ass and I'll do it with my bare hands._

_

* * *

_

"Something feels odd about that young client, never did like a man whose mind I can't read, whatever his powers are, they keep me out of his. He's not been back after four days and he never stayed away for more three before we gave him Doll to play with." King observed as he studied Julian's hurried exit from the Club four days ago on the surveillance tapes.

Mistress was sitting in his lap while he talked, dressed in her usual attire and giving him a mild course of pleasure pulses.

"He's harmless, found himself a nice little pet that does what he likes and that's all he wants. He lives for enjoying what that girl has to offer, he's put more time in her than I bet he's spent with his family in the last year or so. After my last session with him and his pet, I'm sure he's just making sure he can afford to keep coming back for years. If I can have another session with them then I'll probably have her fully trained by the end. Doll will be on her knees begging for that boy to never leave that room after he does her in the ass ten times straight. You know what I can do with a touch, imagine what I can do with another chance to make them fuck eleven or more times. He's just gone because he's so desperate to make sure he can afford to come back here for months or years with my guidance driving him and Doll into that mad animal fucking they enjoy. I bet when he gets back he'll stay for four days." Mistress said as she thought about the fun she had gotten out of making Doll and her owner fuck like mindless animals.

Mistress had been a bit surprised she had managed to push them to eleven rounds of raw animal sex, she was well aware of her talent but it was obvious their young client had a very deep physical attraction to Doll and so did Doll to her master. That coupled with her own talent had put them into the longest master-slave session Mistress had ever managed with such inexperienced participants. Mistress was looking forward to seeing how far she could push them in further engagements.

"I'm glad you're so confident in your abilities my dear, I really do. Perhaps next time you could turn that little toy of his off so I could see how you get them to work one another over, might be good instructional footage for my other pets." King said as he playfully ran his hands across her cleavage while she kept giving him more little pulses.

"I don't know about that, as you said he doesn't seem to forget about that and we only have what we have because he was careless with it once. I doubt he'll be again, if I do that he might notice since I don't know how his device works and if it sets off an alert if it's deactivated. He might never invite me back in there, or any of the other girls for that matter if he thinks we're working for you in that capacity. Better to let me keep their little romps private for now, I'm sure Doll will be broken completely if I'm given just two or three more sessions with her and our client." Mistress said as she kept up her light pleasure pulses as she brought up the footage they did have of Julian and Laura coupling, she liked to study her subjects and their chemistry.

"You do believe you can break her down that quickly? What if she isn't receptive when our client tosses her aside for something new? Are you sure this little Doll of ours will look forward to being used as an S&M toy? She seems a bit used to just the regular carnal pleasures to suddenly become addicted to the joys of being a whole new kind of pet." King asked as he watched Doll on another monitor, lying asleep on her bed in her restraints, Mistress had just finished with her and come to his office for a report and a private session.

"If she ever wants to feel my hands on her again when that day comes, she'll beg for it. She'll love it just as much as anything else with the proper training. After all my dear, there is nothing these girls won't do in exchange for my touches." Mistress said as she intensified Master's pulses and reminded him of her unique talent, she had the girls ready to be taken all three ways at once of the male guards if it meant she gave them a session.

"Wait a minute, what's this?" King said as he brought up the lobby screen, there were three mutants standing there and they were not his clients, employees, nor his slaves.

"Get everyone up! Tell the teleporters we're…" King started, and then stopped, Mistress looked confused as he froze in place.

"Don't worry my dear, he's just living inside a recurring nightmare I gave him, his manhood is being cut off and regrowing every thirty seconds. If you would kindly surrender now and I may actually be gentle with what I do with your mind." King said in a different tone of voice as he turned to face her, and then reached for her like a zombie. Mistress knew a psychic takeover when she saw one, she ran.

"You'll just die tired!" King called after her in a laughing voice, she had seen one particular face on the camera before she had run off, and they had been betrayed.

_That little shit_ who'd pretended to be another client had come in with the X-Men. Mistress knew what she had to do to survive, get Switch, get the girl and they'd have a hostage to take them out of there. Then Mistress would give Doll the last pleasure jolt of her life, a fatal dose.

* * *

Emma had paralyzed King's mind within moments when they teleported in. The man was as the girl Laura's information suggested, a lech who had become addicted to his own sex workers who maintained the order among the slaves, his mental defences were weak and easily broken. Emma then dropped a bomb into his head, it scrambled his mind while she set up a recurring nightmare that would cause him too much mental agony to easily recover. The second move was finding the teleporters, they were two levels down, twins it seemed, one boosted the other's power or they had different powers that complemented each other's to achieve long-range teleports.

Emma took control of their minds, telling them they were to accept all teleport requests coming in, no matter how rapidly they were given. Wolverine had already cut the hand off of the first guard to produce a weapon, he was in an ill mood and Cyclops was not exactly being gentle with the force blasts from his visor.

Beast, Nightcrawler and Northstar arrived with the New Mutants, plus Hellion. They quickly moved in, heading for the main lounge, the first two mutant guards were there but they didn't stand much of a chance. Surge had the first one electrocuted before he knew what was going on, Santo knocked the apparent strong-man type out with one punch. That was the rule of such fights really, sometimes one side was just much stronger than the other and it was barely a contest.

Cyclops led the assembled X-Men into the main client lounge and they quickly spread out. Cyclops fired a long blast of his visor over the ceiling and knocked out a few lights to make sure he had everyone's attention.

"If you work here, you stay where you are, if you're a client, stay where you are. Anyone that moves get a full optic beam to the face and that hurts, a lot." Cyclops ordered at the main hall where three dozen girls and a dozen clients were frozen in fear at the sight of fourteen very angry mutants.

"New Mutants, secure the area. You know how to do it, we'll sweep and bring new groups here, keep it contained. Hellion you come with us." Cyclops ordered, Wallflower started releasing calming pheromones into the air and Sofia used her wind to make sure everyone got a good dosage. One mutant woman started creeping up on Prodigy, but was quickly shocked by Surge.

"He's mine, hands off." Surge warned as she moved David away from the guard playing slave.

* * *

Julian covered the X-men as best they could, throwing up TK shields while they dealt with security and guards posing as slaves. When they found a group of slaves Nightcrawler would quickly teleport them to where the New Mutants were holding down the fort. Wolverine was being quite messy with some of the guards but even Cyclops didn't raise a protest about it, no one was feeling merciful about this.

They moved quickly, Julian thought he could sense Laura but that was crazy, telepathy was not part of his powers and he had strict orders, do his job and he and she would get out of this alive.

Everything was going well, until they turned the corridor. The power dampener was there, with a large rifle and Mistress was holding Laura, she was completely intoxicated by Mistress's touch.

"Switch is keeping your powers off X-Men, but not mine. I can actually overload this one to the point where the pleasure kills her. So we're going to walk right out of here, or I assure you, I'll pleasure that one's little playmate into oblivion." Julian could feel the hate boiling up inside him.

In any other circumstance he'd be to strike with a mere thought and that would be it, he'd failed though and Laura was going to pay the price. Julian could still feel his powers though, it was strange until he got Miss Frost's telepathic message.

_Relax Mr. Keller, I have been monitoring your activities since you started getting close to Switch and that arrogant cow. Switch does not know you are there, your powers are on because he can not disable the power of a mutant he can not see. I shielded you because you can strike without either he or Mistress seeing you do it. I know you are capable enough to handle this, none of the others could safely deal with both threats at once. I would stop them myself but I have to keep King and the teleporters locked in their minds, but I could do this for you. You wish to prove you can still be a hero, clear your mind, focus and save the girl and the X-Men in one move._

Julian heard Miss Frost's voice in his head and carefully collected his power, Switch had to go down hard but alive, Mistress, well he'd like to kill her but that wasn't how a real hero did things. Julian focused, Mistress found both her hands suddenly covered in his green telekinetic field, blocked off from touching Laura as he lifted her up entirely and threw her into the wall face first. Switch had the rifle ripped out of his hand and found it now pointing back at him.

Laura fell to the ground, a dazed look on her face, she'd obviously been heavily stimulated from the moment Mistress had grabbed her. Julian checked her pulse, elevated because of what she'd been flooded with, but alive. She was naked and shackled, Julian carefully focused his telekinesis into each of the locks and expanded out, and breaking them as he quickly freed her of the shackles.

"Is she alive?" Cyclops asked as Julian pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around Laura, covering her up.

"Yes, but I think she could use her healing power to get herself together. He still can't see me, so tell him the powers come back on now or I really get nasty." Julian said, he cradled Laura in his arms while he sat on the floor with her.

"Switch right? You've got ten seconds to turn everyone's powers back on, including hers before we get very unpleasant with you. We may not have our powers right now, but I'm sure we can beat them back out of you." Wolverine grabbed Switch and held him up against the wall.

Switch relented immediately, their powers came back as Julian noticed Laura seemingly getting more life back in her limbs.

"I'm taking her back there right now." Julian said as he stood up, Laura in his arms as he telekinetically moved Cyclops and Wolverine out of his path.

"You want to try and separate 'em?" Wolverine snorted and kept on patrolling, noting Julian's protective nature of her.

* * *

The X-Men had not been suspected and the majority of the guards were cowards when it came down to facing such a powerful group of mutants. They soon had close a hundred prisoners, fifteen guards and one very out of it Master, who still had the same shocked look of terror on his face.

"Alright Emma, keep an eye on the teleporters and remind them that any funny business and I turn them over to Wolverine." Cyclops said as Emma nodded and began to drop rather frightful images into their head about that possibility. King was now completely out of it, while had been a good psychic, Emma Frost had only a handful of equals in the world. He was in a coma until they could give him to the FBI for over a hundred kidnapping charges that were the least of the offences he would have leveled against him.

"Elixir, I will need your assistance I suspect, and all of the school's qualified psychics. Miss Frost, it will take quite some time to undo the damage to these girls, we'll need to clear out the medical wing and the top floor off the Institute at least and more, I suggest it might be a good time to arrange a wide-scale camping excursion for much of the student body. I think you had better find as many trauma specialists as you can as well, this not a rescue that will be completed in day" Beast said as he examined the extent of the club's slaves and their condition, adjusting his glasses.

"I can't believe a place like this existed." Nori said shocked at what she saw, the state of the poor girls kept as sex slaves, they all seemed confused when they were told they were free.

"Believe it darlin' and without that kid, these girls would still be stuck here." Wolverine said as he kept watch over the surviving male guards and the female guards as well. Every time they moved an inch, he put a claw to their throats to remind them not to move.

Julian had placed Laura in one of the chairs in the common room and hovering over her protectively, then she woke up. It had taken some time for her healing factor to get up to speed, it had been dormant for a very long time. Laura then noticed she was surrounded by a great deal of unknown people, she had to risk it, her claws did come out this time.

"Laura wait!" Julian stepped in front of her before she took any action, but covered her claws in a TK field to prevent her from lashing out in her current state.

"They're the X-Men, the people I told you about. I told you I'd get you out and I did, you're leaving this place right now." Julian said, speaking to her calmly and he met her eyes.

Laura watched carefully around her, then retracted her claws, he let go of his TK and pulled her into a reassuring hug.

"Told you I was come back." Julian whispered to her.

"I believed you." Laura replied as she enjoyed the embrace, he had never lied to her in his intentions, she would be free.

"It seems you failed to mention something to us about the young woman's abilities Mr. Keller." Emma Frost said suspiciously eyeing the two of them.

"I didn't know and it's none of your business anyway. I would like to leave this place now." Laura said as she moved closer to Julian, feeling a bit more secure.

Julian kept his around her shoulders, she was free, finally. Or so she hoped, if they found out what she was, she might go back into another box. She would have to escape soon and if Julian was with them, she'd have to say goodbye to him as well.

"You heard her." Julian said and Emma Frost quickly sent a psychic command to one of the teleporters, they arrived back at the Xavier Institute in the Medical Wing.

"I have to leave, they can not know what I am. There are people after me." Laura said as she pulled away from Julian and looked for an exit.

"You can't just run off, that stuff King put in your head is still there. Plus whatever else they brainwashed into you, you can't just go running off like this." Julian said as Laura started towards the exit. She didn't get more than a few steps before a brilliant wall of neon green energy was in her way

"Let me go Julian, I do not wish to hurt you." Laura said as she popped her right-hand claws in a threatening motion.

"You won't hurt me. You probably owe me a few punches for taking so long to rescue you but you're not going to stick me with those. They're not going to hurt you, I'll be with you and they won't do anything to you unless you let them. This place is a haven for mutants, you need it more than anyone right now." Julian said as he walked closer to her, Laura retracted her claws reluctantly, but knew she couldn't really bring herself to hurt her savior.

"If they try to take me away?" Laura asked as she rested her head on Julian's shoulder as the Medical wing began to fill up with her fellow slaves, Beast, Emma and every psychic in the mansion to help the girls reverse their brainwashing.

"They haven't seen me mad." Julian replied as he held her close to him.


	11. Discovery

Disclaimer: Writer not affiliated with Marvel in any way, shape or form, characters and original settings all belong to Marvel Comics. Just wanted to finally give these two a chance, been rooting for them since they met in New X-Men. Now let's all write Craig Kyle and Chris Yost and tell them to give these two a break in the comics, I think we can all agree they both deserve it!

Timeline Notes: M-Day has not happened in this timeline, nor did Laura/X-23 take part in joining the characters of NYX, but her personal timeline before NYX is intact. Claremont's X-Men run and by extension and the events in New X-Men have not involved Laura Kinney at all. Similarly, events that became possible by M-Day such as Civil War, Messiah Complex and Secret Invasion will not have occurred. (Mass mutant rebellion against Registration would have fielded advantage to the Anti-Registration side after all). Julian Keller has left the Xavier Institute approximately one year before the story takes place, but the Hellions Mini and his activity in New Mutants Volume 2 and New X-Men: Academy X have all taken place.

Character Notes: Estimating Julian to be 17 years old at the time of this and Laura to be about 16 years old given Comic timelines move in strange and mysterious ways and characters are suddenly younger and older for no reason. Maintaining Laura's tendency of not using contractions and slang when she talks as seen in New X-Men and X-Force. Also taking my best guess on Laura's personality in this time line and how it would evolve over time.

Note for "M" Label: Contains strong language, strong sexual themes with some graphic description in certain chapters with intermittent violence and some scenes of torture. Not for younger readers of course, but it's the internet and I doubt anyone's taking maturity labels seriously… Read entire chapters before judging please, nothing's written without purpose.

Chapter Eleven: Discovery

Julian had convinced Laura to stay, at least long enough to have the psychic commands in her head removed for her own safety and long-term mental health. Laura spent time initially with Celeste Cuckoo as Emma Frost was busy helping all the captured girls get King's brainwashing out of their heads.

The problem was Laura had to internally disable her psychic defences to let Celeste in and she saw the other side of Laura's mind and her past when she looked inside. Laura had to open herself up and risk exposure of her secret while Celeste had found King's psychic commands and removed them, but being inquisitive as telepaths are she took a quick look at Laura's past..

Celeste nearly passed out from the memories she saw and feeling Laura's internal instincts, her life as X-23 and that she already had eleven plans to kill Celeste without raising any alarm if she had to escape quickly. Emma Frost was called in when this was discovered and demanded a full explanation from Laura about her origins and it created a ruckus over what was to be done with her. Laura was a living weapon, trained in over a hundred ways to kill with bare hands or claws alone. She was brainwashed with a deep-seated command Emma could not remove that left her a victim of the trigger scent the Facility used on her. Laura had killed over four hundred people by her thirteenth birthday and was fully capable of tearing through half the school before she might be stopped. Laura's guarded responses and tendency to release her claws when approached for any medical testing caused great concern about her mental stability and instinct for personal survival. Frost had decided that during her hiding from the Facility and her capture by The Club, she had used Julian as a tool of escape, never telling him what she was or what she was capable of.

Julian had known already, she'd told him about her past during her first night in the Institute, when the school had nearly been emptied to accommodate the sudden influx in population. All mutants under the age of 16 and all male students in the school had been sent on a peer bonding/retreat. Frost had determined the former captive girls needed to be kept away from men while their initial deprogramming and recovery took place. Frost did not want the younger students initiating any accidental contact with the former slaves either. The captured guards, staff, Elites and King had been taken into custody and carefully kept in the sublevels well away from their former captives. The human guards and staff were put in the Danger Room

Laura had slipped out quietly after she and most of the other captives had been given rooms in the dormitory to rest in. The shape shifters had remained in the medical bay for more intensive telepathic treatment and even suicide watch, their cases were especially troublesome. King had gone one step further with them, locking their minds out from assuming their actual forms, requiring them to only shift into forms they had permission to become and adopt required personalities in these new forms. They were forced to behave like sexually addicted versions of the people they impersonated. The requirement to always be in different forms to serve clients and have varied personalities for each of them had left deep psychological trauma. Laura had trouble differentiating between being X-23, Laura and as if a bothersome intruder in her subconscious, Doll. The shape shifters had been required to adopt up to a dozen committed personalities each and form in to even more depending upon preferences from the clients.

Wolverine had been trying to convince Cyclops for about an hour to let him go to the detention cells and just get rid of King and the clients and keep a lid on the whole matter of what went on. Emma Frost was busy using the telepaths in a coordinate effort to keep subtle observation of all the rescued girl's mental states to check for signs of psychological distress and self-harming behaviour. There were already trauma specialists being flown in, from everywhere the X-Men could find to help take part in a massive deprogramming and recovery effort. More X-Men had arrived as well, all women as well Laura noted, likely to help prevent any possible incidents with their interactions with males.

Julian had been sleeping in an isolated tent from the rest of the camped-out students, refusing to be near them. It was either concern of conflict or simple confrontation Laura assessed when she found him. Laura asked him if he could take them somewhere where they would not likely be seen or heard with her hand over his mouth when she woke him up. Julian nodded, seeming surprised she had come to see him at all.

Julian flew them up to the roof and Laura told him about how she'd been born X-23 and only later, had managed to escape and try to be Laura Kinney. Laura told him about how she'd had to say goodbye to Megan and Debbie when The Facility had caught up to her, how she'd had to hide in the streets and lived as a prostitute until The Club took her. Julian had seem more heartbroken than she had felt retelling the story, he realized Laura had spent less time getting to be a regular girl than he'd spent with broken limbs. It had scared him at first, to think of her as a trained assassin from birth, taught no joy or comfort and made into a weapon. Julian saw though, she wanted to be something else, she wanted to be what she called Laura Kinney, the person she least knew how to be.

Julian had been apprehensive even with her telling him she didn't really want to be X-23, but didn't really know how to be anything else. He had seen the fascination in Laura's eyes when he had flown them with his telekinesis to the school roof and when a shooting star flew over them. Julian swore to her whatever happened, he would not let them hurt her or try to turn her in to some government group like SHIELD. Laura didn't deserve to be treated like some little drone assassin while the X-Men decided what was to be done with her. In his eyes, she'd been denied so much, but she was still fighting to get free of being controlled. Miss Frost would probably want to wipe her memory clean, but then it wouldn't be Laura, that was always her solution. Play with someone's head until everything was better. Wolverine had sat down with Laura too, Julian had stood outside, ready to throw Wolverine to the other side of the country if he started threatening her.

It didn't happen, it seemed Wolverine and Laura knew each other from some brief encounter in the past, but he had not mentioned it before now. Wolverine, Logan had said he had kept that information from Cyclops and Frost in case it spoiled them about the mission or made them think to have SHIELD ready to pick her up and take her away. Logan suspected Emma was unduly influencing Scott, but he also said he never quite knew what was going on in either of their heads so had not left it to chance. Logan was on their side and threatened Frost in full view of the X-Men and the senior female students still in the school that if she tried to throw Laura out of there, he'd gut her in her sleep. There were few things that could inspire fear, but Julian was pretty sure that even Emma Frost, the telepath with a diamond skin knew better than to push Wolverine. Logan knew Laura needed refuge, time to establish herself and find an identity of her own.

Julian knew whatever went on, sooner or later it wasn't going to work out well for them. He was fine if he was thrown out or was tossed in jail for what he had been doing, but he knew Laura was the one truly in danger here and he needed to protect her. Emma had Cyclops under her thumb, which is why he had been offered a chance to stay at the Institute because of his efforts. Beast was too busy trying to cover the medical issues of a hundred brainwashed mutant girls who had been starved, abused and even some of them become physically addicted to their Inducer captors. The other teachers were always coming and going and were not reliable. Laura also warned him that she'd eavesdropped with her enhanced hearing, inquiries were being made about the SHIELD unit that had been tasked to capture X-23.

Julian decided enough was enough, he still had a lot of money, a scrambled phone and a few ideas about lying low. He told Laura to meet him in his room at midnight if she wanted to leave the Institute and go somewhere where no one could find her. Julian flew back to New York to get the case the lawyers had held for him, his parents either still didn't know he was in New York or didn't care. Julian wrote a brief note to his parents, saying he had to help some friends out and likely would have to disappear for a very long time.

* * *

"Yes, I know what I said. I want it bought, I don't care, just get it. No, I don't need plane tickets or a car. I'll handle transportation, no you don't need to know who this is. I'm paying you double, just make it happen. If you need a name on a document, use Smith." Julian argued on the phone and hung up.

"Take care of her kid, or I'm coming for you." Wolverine said standing in the doorway.

"You know?" Julian asked worried.

"Don't worry, Frost doesn't know anything and I can keep her out of my head. You need help, you call me. They might still come after her , people who'd want to use her." Wolverine said as he handed Julian a piece of paper with his phone number.

"They want her, they'll have to go through me." Julian said, his eyes blazing with green telekinetic energy.

"All I needed to know. You're a good kid Keller, I hope you come back here one day. If only to piss off Summers and the Ice Queen for sticking it to her, again." Wolverine said and walked off. Julian went back to

"Leaving again?" Cessily asked as she looked at Julian's bag, he'd neglected to take most of his things since he had left the Institute, he doubted he would be returning any time soon to retrieve them.

Cessily had refused to let any of his stuff get thrown away, figuring he would come back one day, she had hope like that. Julian was rather thankful, he didn't really feel like flying back across the country just to pick up some clothes.

"Not if Frost is asking, or Summers." Julian said as he checked his bag and made everything was in order. He heard Santo's rather loud footsteps and turned around, Santo, Cessily and Sofia had come in to his room.

"Is she going with you?" Sofia asked, Julian stared back at her.

"Yes, **Laura** is coming with me. This place isn't going to do her any good, either Frost is going to nuke her mind, turn her over to SHIELD or just kick her out. None of those three things work for her or anyone else. She needs to be free, she hasn't had that a day in her life, I'm going to help her get it." Julian said as he found his old passport and smirked, his fake ones had better pictures than his real one.

"We heard from the Cuckoos what she is. You can't be serious, she'll kill you in her sleep if she has a bad dream." Cessily said concerned.

"Nobody here knows who she is, she doesn't even know. If she wanted to kill me she had more then enough chances by now since she got out of that place. I've stayed with her practically every night when everyone's been asleep, staying in her room to make sure Frost doesn't come in there and mind-wipe her. I have a ridiculously sore neck from sleeping in a chair and making sure no one else was coming after her, I promised her I'd keep her safe from anyone trying to us her." Julian snapped angrily, rubbing his neck after five nights of very unrestful sleep.

"Laura needs to feel what we've taken for granted since we were born. You've all found your place here, The New Mutants will be the X-Men in a few years. Me, I don't know who I am anymore. First I was going to help run the family business, then I was going to be an X-Man, than a mutant saboteur for hire. I haven't had a day off to think about what I should be doing since I was about six years old. She doesn't know what she should be and neither do I, so we're going to take some time away from everything and figure that out." Julian said angrily as he waved his arms in the air, thinking about how he'd just been bumped from one life choice to another.

"Dude you're not in love with her or anything are you?" Santo asked, Julian paused at that.

"I don't know, I don't think I know what it means to be in love. All I know is she needs my help. They mind-wipe her, she stops being her and think about it, would any of us be who we are if we lost most of our memories? No, we'd be dead. You change one thing you change everything and I won't let Frost nuke her mind until she's got the brain of a two year old. They turn her over to SHIELD, she's either executed for things she was brainwashed into doing, or brainwashed into becoming their own private assassin. Frost kicks her out, she's all alone again while I try and pretend being the 50th X-Man is really that important." Julian replied, trying to figure out of he felt he needed to protect Laura out of his renewed sense of heroism, or if he had deeper feelings for her. _She needs this, you need this, fresh start, be teenagers before the world takes everything away._

"Dude, you got to do what you got to do and that's cool, anyone gives you trouble, gimme a call, I'll have your back." Santo offered a fist-bump with Julian, who accepted and grinned.

"Just promise to let us know how you're doing, I'm tired of worrying about more friends dying." Cessily said as she hugged Julian and she left with Santo.

"Anything you want to say?" Julian asked as he was left alone with Sofia.

"Yes, while I can never forget what happened that day, when Jay died saving your life, I can forgive you for what you did. You were young, you were angry and we were being attacked for being mutants, you wanted to make them leave us alone. You lost the bit of yourself that made you believe you were invincible, but you also understood that you had to be someone better because of it. You are going to be a better man than you ever were before for doing this, I know it. I don't know if you really believe in God after all you went through but I believe he guided you through all this and will continue to do help you find your way." Sofia said as she entered the room and stood close enough to him for him to get one last whiff of that peach shampoo she washed that long, silky brown hair of hers with.

"I want you to know this because this is what I believe. God had decided to test you and test all of us for many things that day and I think we all succeeded, especially you. You endured his test so one day you could be the hero you always dreamed you would be and more. I know this because you never lost your sense of honour or duty to your fellow mutants even after you had fallen so far. Wherever you go to find your way, you should know this and I would hope you share this with Laura as well." Sofia shared with him her belief about why what had happened over a year ago had.

"What God desires from you is here." Sofia said touching his left temple with two fingers, then his heart.

"And here. Do what you know to be right every day and you will be a good man Julian Keller, Even if you do not take God into your heart, I am sure he will watch over a man such as you who risked everything to help those he did not know but for the fact that they needed his help when no one else could do so." Sofia whispered as she kissed him on his cheek and walked away. Julian silently wondered for a moment what might have been if that one day had gone a different way.

"Were you ever with her?" Julian jumped and turned around, Laura was crouched in the window with her bag slung across her back.

"Not like that, it ended the day I destroyed my future here, or maybe before then, our relationship was never one I really worked out and to be honest, I was a raging asshole around here sometimes. I was different then and I am glad I'm not that person anymore. You wouldn't have liked him at all." Julian said as he thought about who he used to be when he first arrived at the Institute.

"It seems you are still liked by some people here, Are you sure you wish to leave this place? You have been offered a place here where you could be among friends." Laura asked as she looked around.

"I don't need this place and it doesn't need me. What you need is to get away from everything, everyone and find out who you want to be, so do I really. Where we're going is so remote it doesn't even have a real road and the nearest real airport is five hundred miles away." Julian said as he pulled out his GPS unit and checked the coordinates, he'd swiped it from Miss Frost's car as one last act of defiance. He stopped and smiled as he looked at Laura.

"What?" Laura asked as she looked down and wondered if there was something wrong with her clothes.

"I don't think I've ever seen you more beautiful since I met you." Julian complimented her as he smiled.

Laura was dressed like any other girl her age should be, wearing blue jeans and sneakers, she worse his old Chicago Blackhawks shirt that he'd grown out of during his last growth spurt but kept for luck. Laura also had a silver necklace with a pendant that read L.K. that he'd flown into town and had engraved for her, he wanted to give her something so she could always wear her real name proudly. Julian did feel a bit weird about giving her his lucky shirt since it had been something he wore and now she did but, but figured if anyone needed luck it was her. Laura had stopped being anyone's property and looked like a real girl in his eyes. The purple hair she'd been given at the Club remained, Julian had found it alluring once but now just a troublesome reminder of what had unfortunate things had happened while maintaining their cover. Laura had said shaving it off would remind her of something from her past and would wait for it to return to its natural colour.

Laura sniffed to sense his pheromones and intentions. His statement was peculiar and did not make much sense considering the encounters they engaged in during their efforts to maintain their cover at the Club.

"You are not lying… I do not understand, I remembered how you looked at me before." Laura said as she thought back to her time in the Club when could see his sexual desires for her quite well when she had been made to dress in a very provocative way for his pleasure.

"Laura, I could show a picture of you dressed up like you were in The Club to about every guy in this school except Northstar and Anole since they swing for the other team and they'd be lusting after you. I'd have trouble finding a single hetero guy in the country who didn't want you if you were dropped in front of him dressed up like you were. That's just baseline animal lust, everyone's got it to some degree and I'm a seventeen year old guy whose had a thing for every pretty girl he met since he was ten years old." Julian said as he tried to explain the lust he had felt for her before and how he saw her now.

"This is you not being X-23 or Doll, this who you told me you were when I asked you your name and you told me, Laura Kinney, you're beautiful because you're you, You're not some fake fantasy for to someone to live out and you're not what half the jerks in this hole think you are, some kind of remorseless murderer. I see you, I still think you have a pretty face and a nice body but this… it's just different. I don't know how to explain it, I just see you and I think you're beautiful because you're dressed like any other girl your age, you're free. You're your own person for the first time in your life and you get to choose who you want to be and I find that incredible. You told me when you explained your past you wanted to be something that no one had told you to be, that you wanted to just do something because you wanted to and not because you had been told to do it.

This is why I'm leaving with you, I want to help you find what that it is and maybe feel it myself, I've been told or thought I had to be someone since I was six years old and I'm tired of it. Where your life goes from this point on as Laura Kinney is up to you and I'll help you any way I can to find where that life takes you, Then if anyone, and I mean anyone tries to take it away from you I'll rip their fucking heart out with my bare hands." Julian said as pulled her into a hug and enjoyed the simple contact between them.

Laura couldn't help but smile, it felt good knowing someone believed she wasn't just some little assassin drone or other kind of property. It was a nice, although rather unfamiliar feeling that she had a friend to help her, even if she still had trouble understanding what a friend was.

"Now let's get the hell out of here." Julian said as they exited through the window, he picked Laura up in his telekinetic wave and took off, flying so fast he doubted Frost even realized what had happened until he was out of range. With a new kind scrambler he'd bought as well before he left, no one was going to know where two mutants were hiding.

* * *

Julian smiled, it was kind of like the guy had said in Land of the Dead, _"I'm going up north, where's no people, Canada._" And the land he'd bought was perfect. The nearest town was fifty miles away and he was pretty sure the Xavier institute out populated them. He'd bought a remote estate for himself and Laura in Northern British Colombia, scenic, refreshing and about as far away as he could get from the Institute without living in permanent ice and snow while staying in North America.

He decided for the first while he wouldn't his powers, at all, which was harder than it seemed. He tried to keep in shape with various activities, chopping wood was tougher than it looked and Laura would show often show him up with her claws, slicing a full cord of wood while he was working on his fifth log.

Cooking was even harder, but he'd managed to have the house well-stocked for them. The previous owners had been forgetful enough to leave cookbooks behind, but they had been in French and a few disasters occurred before Laura revealed she could also speak and read French, in addition to about seventeen other languages. He was quite confident Laura was trying to discover her sense of humour, a mocking, practical joke sense of humour it seemed to be, but he was glad it was there.

He tried reading, then started doing something he hadn't done in a long time, drawing. He had landscapes to work with and they were okay, but he found himself drawing Laura more and more often, trying to catch her in the perfect picture. He never mentioned he was drawing her, he didn't want her to know until he drew her perfectly, and he wanted her to see herself as he saw her.

Laura went for long walks in the brush, using her senses to get in touch with the nature around her. It was relaxing and she was finding the dark thoughts visited her less often now. The impulses she had picked up from the Facility were less common and easier to ignore most of the time in the restful environment, she stopped flinching whenever she felt something brush along her neck, where she had worn her collar as a slave of The Club.

Julian was supportive of whatever she tried out and at first she had learned the arts of cooking and kept Julian from setting the house on fire, but found herself wanting to read more in general. There were plenty of books in the house that Julian had arranged for them to have to pass the time. She read thirty books in her first month, going through the books as fast as she could turn the pages. She had no idea about the scope of literature outside of combat manuals and war diaries that she'd had to memorize at the facility. Much of it wasn't that easy to understand, when she asked Julian what a particular passage from _The Complete Works of Shakespeare _meant, he blushed and said he didn't know. She suspected it was just a bit obscene, which was silly considering what they'd done with each other at the Club. Although, Julian had barely made any physical advances toward her since they had arrived. She often found herself having to bridge the gap of physical contact.

She wondered if he still felt disgusted with himself for what they had done together in the effort of maintaining their cover at The Club. It had been regrettable, but she had endured a lifetime of punishment through the first ten years of her life and then another lifetime during the three after that, until Julian had rescued her. He seemed quite preoccupied with never even mentioning that they had engaged in sexual relations and seemed to have a number of conflicting feelings for her. One thing that was constant though a general level of baseline desire was still detected by her enhanced sense of smell, and something else she couldn't quite identity.

Laura had gotten a better grasp of why sex was such a controversial thing beyond the obvious issues of physical intimacy and personal feelings. The various books had given her a better understanding of the pitfalls and significance of physical coupling, although she was surprised Julian seemed so apprehensive, she could smell his attraction to her. But he'd also been very remorseful of how he'd spent his life of late, seeming to think he'd wasted big parts of it while she'd been denied any chance to enjoy a life at all.

Laura kept reading, Julian soon had to make a telekinetic trip down to Vancouver down south to find more books to keep up with her rapid rate of completion. It was relaxing, she could sit back and read about what others had done or were pretending to do or might do in the future. She could just imagine it all happening, rather than whatever she read being what she would have to do to serve her masters. She took time to study the philosophers and writers of the Enlightenment, Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Paine, she wondered when she read all those works of the great philosophers why their ideas were not put into better practice. By the logic of their publication dates, she should never have existed, or at least never been made to be a slave. After a while Julian announced boredom from drawing, but she was pretty sure he was drawing something in secret. She gathered it was either something meant as a surprise, or he didn't want her to know he still imagined her naked and he was drawing it on paper. He returned the next day with a flat screen TV and movies in tow, but Laura kept reading and Julian caught up with what he had missed in over a year of fighting, espionage and regret.

* * *

It had been about two months since they'd been staying there when Laura was confronted with a persistent nightmare she had been having since her escape. She was once again in her Club slave outfit, but was given a Facility file and told her to eliminate her target in the next room. She released her claws like she had done a million times before with their familiar _snikt _but then stopped, it was Julian kneeling before her. _Please, this isn't you... _he begged as she raised her claws to strike then paused, then a gunshot took off his head and her old handler, Kimura entered. _Should've done as they told you X, now you're mine. _Kimura said as she began beating her, she awoke in a fright and got out of bed.

Wearing drawstring pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, she lightly crept into Julian's bedroom, he was sound asleep, but sounded restless as well, mumbling something about Hellions.

"Julian." Laura said as she woke him, his right hand came up with green neon energy ready to hit something.

"You were having a nightmare, so was I." Laura said as she sat on the bed and Julian rubbed his eyes.

"Can't shake it, been over a year. They're still there, dying." Julian said as he hung his head and wondered how long the dream would haunt him.

"I was back at the facility, but dressed up like I was Doll again. I was the worst parts of myself at once, then they told me to kill you." Julian's eyes widened at that.

"I did not do it, but then my handler Kimura did and beat me for not doing it. It is not the first time I have had this dream." Laura reassured him that she had not followed the order to kill him as she tugged at her necklace, she hadn't taken it off since he gave it to her except to shower..

"Fly to the middle of nowhere and our nightmares still chase us." Julian grumbled, he turned on the light with his powers and sat up.

"Can I stay here with you tonight? We do not have to do anything, I just do not want to alone right now." Laura asked as she bit her lip and caught his eye.

"Uhh, sure." Julian said as he reached over to pull a shirt on over his bare chest.

"Relax, it is nothing I haven not seen before.". Laura said as she moved him over and got in bed beside him.

"Sleep better." Julian whispered as he turned the light off with his powers once more.

"I am sure I will." Laura replied as she felt better with Julian's familiar presence.

* * *

Laura woke first, but decided to relax, her head was resting on Julian's shoulder and she her arm laid across his chest. _It should be a way to test his responses, he is being far too apprehensive considering the amount of physical contact we have previously shared. _It was irritating her she couldn't define her relationship with Julian beyond the fact that they lived in the same house.

Julian had a strange feeling on his right shoulder as he woke, Laura's head was resting there and her dark hair was splashed across his chest. It was finally free of the purple that had served as a visual reminder of her belonging to The Club at one time and what he had done with her there. Her arm lay possessively over his chest. He hadn't expected this, he'd certainly thought about it, but had not thought it appropriate to try and have Laura define part of her new life just on him.

"Julian, are you awake?" Laura asked, Julian tried to feign sleep but it was too late, he'd lifted his head and met Laura's gaze, hair falling all over her face.

"Thank you, that was the best sleep I have had since you brought me here." _May not be subtle but even he should be able to understand that, I need to understand this._ Laura thought as she got up and probed how Julian felt about sharing a bed with her.

"Uh yeah, me too actually." Julian replied he couldn't den it, he hadn't had any more fitful dreams after feeling Laura next to him.

"You still find yourself attracted to me do you not?" Laura asked as she went over to the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice.

"Uhh, well…" Julian thought about his answer.

I do not need to feel your heart rate to know if you are lying to me. I can sense your pheromones, you have never stopped wanting my physical body, what has changed?" Laura asked as she turned around, he stood in his bedroom doorway and thought about his answer.

"You've changed, you've had time to do what you want, see the world like you've never had a chance to. What happened between us is something that shouldn't have happened and I'm still attracted to you, yes, but it doesn't feel right, I've never felt like this before. I want you yes, but right now, I'm just happy knowing you're safe." Julian tried answering as he tried to shuffle away from the topic, he didn't want to think about having a physical relationship with her after what they'd had to go through before.

"Julian, I am not saying we should start copulating like two lust-filled teenagers who have to fake a master-slave relationship to maintain our cover in an underground sex club I am just trying to understand how this works. You have actually had relationships, I do not know how they work. I do not know what love is beyond what a number of books say and I have found them to be incredibly depressing or horribly stereotyped with little useful information. The tone is either complete tragedy or this impossible fantasy that seems far too divorced from reality to be possible. Tell me, are you, or do you at least think you are in love with me? Because this seems to be an incredible effort you have gone to just keep me happy. You could have given me a plane ticket to anywhere in the world and a lot of your money and told me to do whatever I wanted. Why did you bring us here in the middle of nowhere?" Laura asked as she shook her head and tried to understand what was going on, she feelings she couldn't quite understand either and they were driving her mad.

"Laura, my relationships consist of a few one night-stands I had while I was working for my parents, a 10% on, 90% off again relationship with Sofia from the Institute and what we have now. I don't know how this works either, I think I'm in love with you but want to make sure you define how this works. Problem is I've got other urges too, like having you on the floor right now because I haven't been able to keep you out of my head since I met you. I wanted to be with you because I wanted to see what it would be like if you had all the choices in the world, what you would want to do. Maybe it would tell me about something I should be doing and I also knew I cared enough about you that I wanted help you any way I could with that." Julian sighed and rubbed his neck, trying to define what he felt with her..

"That is all you had to say Julian, I do not know what I feel either for you either but it's not just this physical attraction we share. You are the only person who really fought for me, you wanted get me free, you did not care who I was or what someone else had made me. You saw I could be better. I am better thanks to you, Maybe it is love I feel for you but I don't know, but I would like to find out." Laura said, she walked over and kissed Julian's check, then took his hand and kissed his palm as well.

"Also I want us to sleep together in the same bed tonight. If you have a problem with that I will require that you sleep outside. I have been watching the local grizzly bears though lately on my walks, they do look very hungry so sleep lightly." Laura said as she caught his jaw and caught his gaze with her best authoritative stare.

"Since when you did you become in charge around here?" Julian asked as she went back to making her breakfast.

"Because you certainly were not going to do anything by my estimation. I suspect our relationship dynamic has now completely changed from its original form in The Club with you being the submissive while I am your master.." Laura replied as she cracked two eggs into a pan, trying out her sense of humour a bit more.

"Anything you say beautiful." Julian replied and saw her smile in the reflection in the window, that's all he had wanted to call her since he saw her.


	12. Understanding Life and Love

Disclaimer: Writer not affiliated with Marvel in any way, shape or form, characters and original settings all belong to Marvel Comics. Just wanted to finally give these two a chance, been rooting for them since they met in New X-Men. Now let's all write Craig Kyle and Chris Yost and tell them to give these two a break in the comics, I think we can all agree they both deserve it!

Timeline Notes: M-Day has not happened in this timeline, nor did Laura/X-23 take part in joining the characters of NYX, but her personal timeline before NYX is intact. Claremont's X-Men run and by extension and the events in New X-Men have not involved Laura Kinney at all. Similarly, events that became possible by M-Day such as Civil War, Messiah Complex and Secret Invasion will not have occurred. (Mass mutant rebellion against Registration would have fielded advantage to the Anti-Registration side after all). Julian Keller has left the Xavier Institute approximately one year before the story takes place, but the Hellions Mini and his activity in New Mutants Volume 2 and New X-Men: Academy X have all taken place.

Character Notes: Estimating Julian to be 17 years old at the time of this and Laura to be about 16 years old given Comic timelines move in strange and mysterious ways and characters are suddenly younger and older for no reason. Maintaining Laura's tendency of not using contractions and slang when she talks as seen in New X-Men and X-Force. Also taking my best guess on Laura's personality in this time line and how it would evolve over time.

Note for "M" Label: Contains strong language, strong sexual themes with some graphic description in certain chapters with intermittent violence and some scenes of torture. Not for younger readers of course, but it's the internet and I doubt anyone's taking maturity labels seriously… Not all chapters will contain everything above, so relax, not a wall-to-wall smutfest.

Chapter Twelve – Understanding Love

"I think it is time I knew what you have in here." Laura declared as they lay in bed a few weeks later and suddenly grabbed the sketch book he was holding..

"Nothing, I just tried drawing some landscapes, I used to draw a bit so I wanted to see if I had anything left in the old hand." Julian replied trying to pry the book back, but her grip was like a vise.

"Okay then there will be no harm in looking through here then." Laura dismissed his suggestions as she began flipping pages, Julian really wished at that moment, the book would catch fire, _spontaneous combustion is possible isn't it?_ He thought to himself.

"Okay, here are the mountains to the east, the lake with the bears at the far end, there are the southern fields and well, I think this has a striking resemblance to someone you know." Laura went on flipping pages until she came across his first drawing of her.

"So I drew you, so what? I said I was drawing things, besides the area what else is there? You ever tried to get a moose to pose for a sketch?" Julian asked, hoping she'd just shut the book.

"Yes, but I do not recall volunteering to be your primary subject, or muse as I believe they are termed. Here I am again, walking, chopping wood, reading, sleeping, reading again, cooking, running, is this some strange form of courtship I have not read about?" Laura asked as she elbowed Julian.

"Now here is an interesting one, quite detailed and taking place across several pages. First there is a view of the Eiffel Tower, then a closer focus to two figures at the observation level. Then you see them I am one of them and with a rather familiar young man, I am wearing a dress and he is wearing a suit, this would not be you would it? I mean aside from the jaw line, shape of your eyes, hair, height, build, why it could be anyone." Laura went further poking at Julian's fantasizing through his drawings of her, waving the sketch in his face.

"If I flip through the rest of this, am I going to find only drawings of me or both you and me?" Laura asked as she kept flipping.

"It's entirely possible, but I'd prefer if we waited." Julian said sheepishly.

"Wait for what?" Laura asked as she looked at the clock.

"For a meteorite to crash down here and vaporize the book and nothing else, I figure it can't be any worse odds than my winning the lottery." Julian groaned as he covered his eyes and forehead with his hand.

"You do not buy lottery tickets." Laura reminded him as she kept going through the sketches.

"That's the problem." Grumbled said as he thumped his head on his pillow, while it wasn't the worse thing in the world to have the girl he was in love with see the hundred plus sketches he had of her, it still felt a bit embarrassing at the moment.

"There is nothing wrong with showing off your artistic side to your girlfriend, some of these books I have read seem to indicate that is how relationships are strengthened. If you really wanted to impress me though, you should have drawn one of me fighting a three-headed dragon or flying a winged horse. This is you trying engaging your imagination about me in a number of what could be described as cliché settings based around your attraction to m e." Laura said as she patted his head and kissed him.

"But isn't that love? Cliché after cliché after cliché?" Julian asked, thinking about how love was always portrayed on film.

"Only if you are reading those poorly written romance novels the previous owners left behind. Now please remember this, a three-headed dragon, if you can make it a lake of fire we are fighting on that would be even better." Laura dismissed the idea, then got back the way she wanted to see him draw her and nudged Julian again.

"I'm guessing you're into the box of fantasy novels I brought back." Julian cracked and received a smack upside the head.

"I am glad to see your time spent in this remote region has not dulled your observational abilities. I find it hard to believe you were not made a member of the X-Men for your excellent deductive abilities in obvious situations. Also, if you ever do rejoin the X-Men, see if you can take your new as Captain Obvious for your codename." Laura admonished Julian as she kept flipping through his sketchbook.

"You know, I'm really starting to regret helping you understanding the concept of sarcasm." Julian said as he tried once again to get his sketchbook back to no avail, seemingly forgetting his powers in the playful environment.

"Well then you have learned two lessons tonight, the first do not leave your sketch book lying around so your girlfriend can see your obsessive sketches of her. The second being that you should never give someone a weapon that can be used against you. Now take your lumps and start plotting your grand masterpiece, seriously, I want to see it." Laura warned Julian in a cautionary tone, and then lightened it as she elbowed him again. She paused looking over the sketches of her, noticing he was always drawing something different, the eyes, the cheeks, experimenting with the drawings.

"Why can you not just stick with one face? My face is a centimetre wider on this page, half a centimeter wider here, my nose a quarter centimeter there, my hair is thicker here, thinner here and darker here. Do you really have such a poor memory of what I look like?" Laura asked as she examined the details more closely.

"Because I want it to be perfect, if I do get it right, just right, I want it reflect you as you are, beautiful, just perfect, natural beauty." Julian answered as he leaned over and kissed her deeply.

"You know you do not have to charm your way into my bed, you are already in it." Laura replied as she kissed him back.

"This is my bed, your bedroom's the other one." Julian replied as they kept kissing.

"Yes, and I suppose the lace bra hanging out that drawer over there are yours?" Laura asked pointing to the dresser.

"Sometimes I like to feel pretty." Julian replied, Laura made a face, smacked him with her pillow then pinned him down and kissed him, they played around for a while longer and then went to sleep.

* * *

The weeks flew by, Julian kept drawing, Laura kept reading, they played and flirted with each other but kept stopping short of going all the way. It still felt strange to both of them and what they had felt good so they kept up with it. Laura was fully prepared to go through the mechanics of sex, but felt strange about considering engaging the act with Julian. It was quiet, peaceful where they were and they were enjoying themselves. It seemed unwise for her to upset such a pleasant thing, she didn't have such experiences often, if ever. It had been a hundred and thirty five days, sixteen hours and fifteen minutes since they had come to their escape from the world, Laura's training made it hard for her to not track the time.

Julian continued to frustrate himself with trying to draw Laura in his 'perfect picture' that had been after since he had begun it. There was always something missing, he just couldn't quite quantify it, or it felt like his hand was stubborn and missing a key detail.. Regardless, he did draw her epic battle with the three-headed dragon, then drew another one with all three heads replaced by that of Emma Frost, they had a good laugh about that. Julian probably enjoyed that sound most of all, hearing her laugh, for Laura to go through what she did through and still be able to smile and laugh was a pleasure to see.

They were sitting in front of the fireplace late at night. Julian was again vainly sketching at his attempted masterpiece drawing, Laura was still reading, she'd go on to study history, but this time not military history like she'd been stuck with in her stunted youth. She was studying the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, fascinated by how such a massive empire was maintained for so long in such a primitive age. While she and Julian were hardly living in luxury, she knew all she had to ask him was if he'd mind flying her to Rome for a quick vacation and they'd be off. That wasn't a bad idea though, the idea of seeing buildings that had been around for a thousand years and still standing, aqueducts older than any of the monarchies in Europe.

Julian kept drawing, then swore, ripped the piece of paper off and threw it in the fireplace."

"Am I that frustrating a subject to draw?" Laura asked as Julian closed what was now his fourth sketch book.

"Laura I could draw you forever and you know that, but I just want to make one flawless drawing of you, I know I can do it but I just feel like there's something missing, I don't know what it is, they all just feel wrong." Julian swore as his tossed another pencil into the fire, she didn't mention he was running low on them again, it seemed to be his go-to method for frustration over failure to draw his masterpiece.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I'm getting depressed reading about a civilization that collapsed on itself because they threw away their democracy, used lead pipes to move their water supply around, then let their dependence on slavery and lazy citizens destroy a thousand year old civilization. The Roman Empire might still be around today if they had kept it together, but no, all the upper class people had to use lead pipes for water supply so they all went stark raving mad." Laura breathed as she shoved her bookmark into place and tossed the heavy volume aside

"I'll tell you what a waste is, a waste is waiting for something to happen when you should just go ahead and do it." Julian said as he looked over and caught Laura's gaze.

"Do not make promises you can not keep Mr. Keller, are you proposing something?" Laura asked as she leaned in and kissed him.

"Just what feels natural." Julian pulled her into a long kiss, she returned it, then grabbed him and they rolled off the couch falling onto the thick carpet in front of the fireplace.

"Are you certain?" Laura asked, she was concerned that it would create a rift between them if something happened, his own guilt over their original sexual encounters had left a strong physical barrier between them before.

If the night did not go well or he regretted it the morning, she feared he might run off where she couldn't easily follow.

"I can't fight it any longer. I love you and I've wanted you since the moment we met." Julian he panted out, trying to catch his breath after a very long kiss.

"I was perfectly aware of your physical desires for my body." Laura said as she helped him get his shirt off and tossed it aside.

"I meant I wanted you like this, in love, together, just you and me. I don't want us to fuck Laura, I want to make love to you, I want you to feel how much I love you." Julian whispered, he held her face with his hand as he pulled her down and kissed her, Laura's hands feeling the bare skin on his chest. Julian was soon helping her off with her shirt as well.

"I have not understood all the feelings and urges since you rescued me Julian, but I do know that the feelings you give me when you touch me are like nothing I have ever felt. I was not sure what would happen when you rescued me Julian, but I am very happy it has led to us being together." Laura whispered into his ear as she rested against his body for a moment and enjoyed the heat radiating between them and the sensations as Julian traced a finger down her arm.

They began again, Julian on the ground as Laura unclasped her bra and let her breasts fall out, Julian quickly took them in his hands and felt the smooth and firm feeling of them as he leaned in and kissed Laura again. The kisses and caresses continued as their eyes met again and they greedily devoured each other.

Soon the rest of their clothes were discarded, they stood in front of each other, naked and exposed to one another. Julian smiled at the beauty of her naked body and pulled her in close and kissed her, then gently lay her down on the carpet as he explored and caressed every part of her body, committing it to memory. Laura did much the same as she rolled them over and began to examine all of Julian, getting to know the rough spots, the smooth spots and everything in-between. She then reached under the couch and produced a box of condoms.

"While I am sure you did not buy these with any specific date in mind, I do appreciate the foresight you showed when you purchased them last month. I would rather have not had to wait while you flew south to find them." Laura whispered, leaning in and licked all the way down from his throat to his very erect member. Wasting no time, she quickly covered his member in latex and then began to kiss her way back up to his mouth again.

"How did you know I bought them? I almost didn't remember I had them and when I did I hid them in the cellar. Why did you even move them to under the couch?" Julian asked, but found it a little hard to concentrate on the question as Laura continued to work her tongue up and down his chest.

"The smell of latex is a rather unique one so they were not hard to find. When I discovered where you had hid them I gathered you felt ashamed over your initial purchase. Your distinct rise in pheromones indicating sexual attraction, desire and arousal over the past several days suggested it would be a prudent move to be prepared as to not ruin the mood." Laura said as she reminded him of her abilities and the way she could read his body's intentions.

"So you knew this was going to happen even before I did?" Julian asked as he reached up and ran his hands across her body.

"While you may have refrained from making further physical intonations towards me for emotional reasons, your overall level of physical desire for my body has not changed since we met. The pheromone levels had been constant since we arrived until the beginning of this week, I gathered that these new levels of pheromone production indicated an intention to engage our relationship in a more physical manner." Laura explained her suspicions, then realized the contortion in Julian's face at the explanation.

"I apologize, have I ruined the 'mood' I did not want to have interrupted with my earlier actions?" Laura apologized as Julian's face changed to a smile.

"You could never ruin this beautiful." Julian replied as he pulled her down into a very long kiss.

"Would you prefer to…" Laura began, but Julian stopped her with a finger to his lips.

"No more talking, let's just go with whatever feels natural." Julian whispered as he began kissing her neck.

Laura let the instincts inside her body take over and do as Julian suggested. Letting Julian roll them over, she enjoyed the feeling of the contact of their naked skin while Julian took himself into her. The familiar feeling returned from their previous encounters, but much more intense in some ways. Laura knew Julian now, knew that he cared for her very deeply and would never hurt her and would never let anyone hurt her. Laura sniffed and took note of the unique fragrance of his body odour when mixing with the pheromones he released, they were intense for someone with a heightened sense of smell.

Julian could feel himself building up rapidly, he'd not relieved himself personally since coming up there with Laura, feeling ashamed to do such a thing with her in the house. He also knew she'd smell it if he did and he'd probably die of embarrassment if she asked him if he thought of her while doing it. Julian slowed down their rocking motions, moving more slowly as he reined himself in a bit and started to just exchange slow, soft kisses with Laura. They slowed down until he felt her own body heat rising and thought she was starting to reach her peak as well and started increasing his pace again. There wasn't much use trying to fight the impulse to go farther, being there with Laura, naked, it felt so right, seeing the desire in her eyes, and feeling her hot naked skin rub against his. It hit him and he couldn't help but call out her name, Laura kept going as she pushed on and soon let loose a pleased moan as she reached her peak.

Julian pushed himself off of Laura and lay next to her and lightly traced his fingers across her body, then they started to kiss again as they kept their naked bodies close together for warmth and comfort.

Laura suddenly felt his arms pulling her even more tightly to himself and felt something trigger in her head. Laura pushed back and moved away from Julian suddenly.

"Fuck, I did it didn't I? I ruined us, I shouldn't have asked you to do this…" Julian said as he looked shocked and somewhat horrified to her sudden reaction.

Laura shook her head and slowly rubbed her neck.

"I am sorry, it is a part of my Facility conditioning, possibly something that was reinforced by The Club and it is making me feel …guarded about sexual contact in an unstructured environment. I was instilled with training never to engage in sexual conduct that does not come from it being necessary for my missions or survival." Laura said as she curled her knees up against her chest, rested her arms on them and buried her head there.

_Why must they haunt me? I want this to happen, I want to feel him touch me, make me feel like he just did all the time! _Laura angrily thought as she thought about how to deal with it.

"We can stop, maybe you just need more time to work it out of your system or whatever." Julian offered to end it right there, deciding Laura did not need to deal with any more issues than she ever was required to face.

"I think I can deal with this, but I must ask you to trust me for what we do next." Laura considered what she could do, but thought about what it could mean if she asked him and he were to refuse, disgusted or frightened.

"Laura, I trust you with everything, I told you about how I fell apart, how I have no family, that I'm in love with you and I would do anything for you. What do you need from me?" Julian asked, wondering what Laura needed to do.

"I am aware this will be more of a full role reversal from our time spent together in The Club than just my directing the course of our current relationship and it may bother you. I believe I can continue with this, but I need to calm my conditioned reflexes and assume more control of our interactions. Basically, I will need to tie you to a bed or something similar and then continue with what we are doing. I know you could easily free yourself with your telekinesis, but I would ask that you do not." Laura thought about how she could put herself in control enough that her reflexes would stop giving her confusing impulses.

"If it will help you, sure. I said I trust you Laura, if this is what you need to do to help you through this than fine. Although I have to say I think you just want a bit of revenge for what we used to go through together." Julian said reassuringly, then tried adding a joke and it worked, she laughed a bit.

"I trust that was a joke. Thank you, I take it you would prefer we do this on the bed?" Laura asked as she smiled a bit, thankful he hadn't refused her outright, she did want to keep going and did not want to let her past brainwashing interfere with what they were sharing.

"Can't say I really wanted you to tie me to one of the trees out back so yeah, the bed sounds pretty good to me." Julian offered as they got up, Laura smiled a bit at the joke and was thankful he was willing.

Laura decided it would be best if she did it where she had become more familiar with sleeping over the past several months to help calm her mental conditioning. Julian was sitting on the bed when Laura left the room and went looking for something to tie Julian up with that would not hurt him either. She found a bundle of nylon rope in one of the closets. Laura, using her claws quickly cut off several lengths and returned with them as Julian was sitting on the bed.

"Please stretch out, I will tie your arms and legs to the bedposts and then we can begin again." Laura said as Julian nodded and stretched himself out from the middle of the bed. Laura tied a firm knot with rope for both wrists and his ankles, but made sure to leave him enough room for proper circulation to flow.

"Feeling better beautiful?" Julian asked as Laura stood on her knees over him and leaned in and kissed him as a test.

Laura found the distracting, warring impulses had lessened in her mind. If he would consent to this for further engagements then she would probably be able to dampen out the conditioning so it would not affect them when they engaged in other forms of activity.

"Almost, how do you feel about a fetish mask?" Laura asked with a bit of a smile on her face.

"Well look who's a comedian all of a sudden, it's not nice to mock naked tied-up boyfriends you know." Julian replied with a bit of a laugh and smiled

"I am feeling better Julian, thank you for your trust." Laura whispered as she began kissing down his naked body.

Laura kept doing this as she rubbed herself against Julian's body, pressing her breasts into his face and felt him licking some of the sweat off from their first tryst. Laura would spend several minutes with this, deciding that the least she could do for him was give him a lot of attention since he couldn't do much but watch what she did, she then kissed all the way down until she removed his condom and began to orally tease his member. Julian had trusted her with this and not raised a protest, despite the lingering feelings he felt about what he had done as part of his cover at The Club with her. Laura decided she could at give him some oral pleasure to even things out between them. Laura continued to do so and got Julian fully stimulated quite soon, then quickly redressed his condom and sat on his chest and began kissing him again.

"You didn't have to do that you know, I would have thought after what… I just didn't think you would ever want to do that again." Julian thought back to that night were Mistress had took control of them both.

"You felt comfortable enough with me to do this Julian. You gave up a sense of your control in your mind so I could be comfortable. I know it gives you pleasure to give me pleasure the way you touch me and want to please me, so why would you think the opposite is not true?" Laura breathed out in a very seductive tone she had not used in a long time, but it was no longer fake, she was enjoying this immensely.

"Well if you want to be comfortable, there is something I've wanted to try for a while. I've been working on the fine motor control and I've been wanting to surprise you with this." Julian whispered back in a husky, very aroused voice.

Laura felt a strange tingling sensation across her body as she found herself enveloped in a glowing green light, it was his telekinetic field, wrapped around her. Laura could feel very subtle, very smooth waves of telekinetic energy pressed against her body and washed up and down her body. It was an incredible feeling. Like having every single muscle in her body massaged at once and the most sensitive parts of her feeling very good all at once. It was almost like having his hands all over her at once as she smiled and leaned down to kiss him, he lowered the telekinetic field around her head as they shared impassioned kisses. Julian continued the telekinetic massage, giving Laura a relaxing feeling that ran across her body, while it also aroused her and encouraged her to keep going.

"You never mentioned you could this, it is quite relaxing… and stimulating." Laura said as she continued to kiss Julian, who returned the kisses while keeping up the hands-free massage.

"I didn't really think it was appropriate to do it, I really didn't know you'd feel or react with this kind of thing. You know I've been nervous about this stuff, but I thought if it would help you." Julian replied as he continued the enveloping massage.

"That and well, I was kinda upset I couldn't touch you with my hands or anything. I do tend to get some feedback from the field though, I have to say I'm really enjoying that feedback right now." Laura smiled at Julian's second remark, leaned in and kissed him further then they got more serious.

Laura positioned herself over Julian and then they started again. Laura started off slow at first, slowly enjoying the feeling of Julian's continued telekinetic massage and enjoying the feeling of being free of her Facility instincts. Laura was sure this would not be necessary forever, they had already coupled once without a problem, it would be something she would have to push out of her mind more firmly. It was easier to ignore the darker impulses as they ran right against what she wanted to do, but the more guarded reflexes were harder to blot out, hence the need for this.

They went on once again, Julian kept up his telekinetic massage all the way to the end. He did lose his concentration as he hit his own peak, Laura have already reached hers thanks to Julian's telekinetic massage. Laura relaxed and lay on top of Julian, he couldn't really do much at the moment with his limbs still tied up, so he started a more subtle massage just across her arm in place of his own hand.

"Would you be averse to our going on any further?" Laura asked as she kissed Julian's chest a bit as they lay there, still resting from their tryst.

"I'm good for as long as you are beautiful." Julian replied as Laura lifted her head up and they kissed.

"Good, because I think I can untie you now. The impulses seem to have regressed again." Laura said as she began to untie one of his arms, to suddenly fine he had all of his limbs free at once.

Julian smiled, using his telekinesis as he used his arms to crush Laura to himself and kiss her.

"Have you ever been told you have an impulse control problem?" Laura asked as Julian started to kiss her neck.

"Has anyone told you that watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail ten times a month is excessive?" Julian replied as he pulled back for her expression.

"King Arthur gets a lecture on representative democracy from a group of his own subjects and a killer rabbit nearly wipes out all the heroes! How is that not the greatest movie ever?" Laura countered his remark as Julian continued to trail his lips across her collarbone.

Laura had fallen in love with the movie the first time she saw it, the random, bizarre structure of the movie and its comedic moments were fun for her. They all defied the internal sense of logic that dictated most of her actions but made her laugh.

"Guess it got old when you started muting the dialogue so you could say all the actor's lines for them." Julian replied as he rested down on the bed, Laura next to him just being playful and relaxing in the moment.

"Then you started to fill in new dialogue to distract my narration, I highly doubt an English King would never tell the Black Knight to move or he would bust a cap in his ass!" Laura shot back as she playfully slapped his chin.

"Maybe he should've." Julian offered with a smile as Laura playfully slapped him again then kissed him.

"So, one more time?" Laura asked as she got on top of Julian again, her hair falling down and tickling his chest.

"Sure, but then you have to agree to get me a hip replacement for my birthday." Julian replied as Laura slapped him playfully once more and they got back into the moment.

"You made me a promise Mr. Keller, I expect you to honour it. Now get in the shower, I think it is time to clean you up a bit, I have a hypersensitive nose and I do not wish to wake up to such a stinky boy." Laura said as she pulled him up and shoved him towards the shower, slapping his ass as he moved towards the bathroom.

Julian flipped on the shower with his powers as Laura got in with him, the steam rose around him as they kissed, Laura ran her hands through his hair, which was getting shaggy, he hadn't cut it since they'd arrived.

"You need a haircut. You looked better with shorter hair." Laura said as Julian began kissing her neck.

"Hey, my barber is back in L.A. and I do not think he is much for house calls." Julian said as he continued to kiss along her body as the hot water washed over them both.

"So get it cut the next time you buy my books, I am pretty sure there are professionals who cut and style hair in Canada." Laura said, she grabbed a bar of soap and began to rub it over his chest.

"You do remember Wolverine's haircut right? Don't be so sure." Julian said as he grabbed soap as well and began to run it across Laura's body.

"I could just do it for you…" Laura said and popped one of her claws in front of him, he jumped back a bit and she laughed, retracting the claw.

"That's just not funny." Julian said as he tried to cover his man-parts, claws that sliced through anything was not something he welcomed when he was naked.

"You are far too nervous, but I think I can make it up to you anyway." Laura said as she grabbed a bath sponge and ran it down around his crotch.

"I think I'll forgive you but please, no more claws when we're naked, or close to being naked, it's not exactly a turn-on." Julian said as he shuddered with the feeling as Laura kept her attention downstairs.

"You are correct, it did require your member a full three-tenths of a second to come to attention after the claw went away." Laura said as she playfully stroked at his member.

"Well you do have a way of getting him interested." Julian whispered into her ear as he pulled her close to him and worked his tongue down her body, stopping when he got to her lower regions.

"What are you…." Laura started then stopped as Julian began to please her orally. He went on as Laura moaned from the sensations, she'd certainly never had anything like this done for her before.

"You will certainly need to keep doing that if we are to do this again." Laura purred out as Julian rose up and pinned her against the wall."

"Sure thing beautiful." Julian whispered as he pushed himself inside her while the hot water beat down over them.

They went at it once more, Laura pinned against the wall as Julian pressed himself into her. He slowed down this time, letting it last while he ran his hands across her breasts and continued to share hungry kisses with Laura. Julian's oral teasing had built Laura up faster, she peaked first and moaned loudly and tiredly kissed Julian. Julian soon finished as well, crying out as Laura finished leaving a rather noticeable hickey on his neck.

"Marking your territory?" Julian asked as he pulled back, Laura came off the wall and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"It seemed appropriate." Laura answered as she kissed him once more, they finished showering, although they took a lot more time washing each other much more than they really needed to do.

They left the shower and had a bit of fun drying each other off, sharing a few more kisses. Laura and Julian dressed in some sleeping clothes, it did get cold at night even sharing body heat and sometimes they did get up at night and the house did have a draft. Lying next to each other, Julian gently stroked Laura's hair as they enjoyed the afterglow of their lovemaking.

"So that is what making love is." Laura said, relaxing in the satisfied feeling and resting her head on Julian's shoulder.

"Worth the wait?" Julian asked, relaxing and trying to fight off sleep, falling asleep right after his first time with Laura outside the Club seemed selfish.

"Well letting the tension and sexual energy build up for so long did certainly make it a …intoxicating experience. But yes it was wonderful Julian, I did not imagine I could feel something like this. I love you Julian Keller. I didn't know what that word meant until I met you." Laura said contentedly as she took her hand in his and enjoyed the simple contact.

"I love you too Laura Kinney, you saved me, you made me a better person. I can't imagine how miserable I'd still be if I hadn't found you." Julian replied, kissing the crown of her head and basking in her presence.

"You will be here when I wake up?" Laura asked as she looked up at him.

"Always, I'm never leaving you, ever." Julian whispered then lost the fight with his drained body and fell asleep.

Laura smiled, they'd worn each other out to the point of exhaustion and she couldn't begrudge him sleep. She relaxed and it soon took her as well.

* * *

"Would you like to go somewhere?" Laura asked over breakfast the next day, idly toying with her cereal and looked over to Julian who was wrapped up in a sports magazine, something about the upcoming hockey season. Laura had always thought it rather strange that being from a state that didn't have snow Julian was interested in the game.

"Flying around the mountains or just walking through the woods?" Julian asked not looking up.

"I mean somewhere else in the world, New York, London, Paris, Rome, Moscow, Tokyo, Hong Kong, anywhere. There are some big cities in Canada, we could go to one of them." Laura said, she liked her own private world that just had her and Julian but she wanted more lately. She wanted to see all of the things she'd read about.

"I've been to most of them, rich parents and all. Where do you want to go?" Julian asked, wondering where Laura might like to go. He did feel like a bit of change in scenery, he could walk around their house blindfolded and still find everything and while the landscape was calm and majestic, it was still the same one he'd been looking at for months now. He wouldn't have minded spending the next month or two in bed with her in their private refuge alone, that was just a personal desire, this was what Laura really wanted and he could tell.

"I think Italy, the Facility sent me there a couple of times…" Laura said looking away ashamed, thinking about what she'd used to do when she traveled around the world.

"…But they were not allowing me to be a tourist before my missions started.. I want to see Rome and Venice, see all the old ruins from the Roman Empire. I want to see the world really, but I think Italy would be where I would like to start." Laura decided she'd been thinking about where she'd like to go for a while now.

"Travel the world with a beautiful girl that I'm completely in love with, well it's not exactly what I had planned for, but I think I can fit it into my schedule." Julian said with a smile after initially holding a puzzled expression as if deciding on the matter.

"I am glad you found that convenient, I would not have enjoyed having to hold you hostage and force you to fly me there." Laura replied with the same smile.

"Italy it is then, never argue with a pretty girl I always say. I have three forged passports of my own that I can use but I'll need to get one for you, is your real name known?" Julian said nodding, then thought about how they'd actually travel.

"The Facility probably does and it could be possible they sold the information to SHIELD for a profit, give them the wanted assassin in agreement for my DNA first so they could make more of me. Such organizations are known for this, I am quite certain my services were sold to SHIELD at some point, killing terrorist leaders is not generally the kind of work I was normally called on for." Laura said as she thought about her compromised identity.

"We can keep your first name at least, no need to have that taken off but I'll need some last names so I can create some fake passports in case one of them gets flagged." Julian asked as he got up and found his notebook, containing locations of places where things could be done with anyone who had the money.

"Thomas, Modano and Hull. The names should be common enough to avoid suspicion but does no sound too obvious. What will your last names be?" Laura asked as she thought for a moment, then decided on some names.

"Kane, Green and Sharp, easy enough to remember basically and for me somewhat recognizable. when do you want to go?" Julian asked as he found the nearest possible forger who could do the kind of work he needed, Seattle.

"Tomorrow, I would like one more night just between us before we go anywhere." Laura said as she looked over at him and gave him a particular smile he had not seen since last night.

"That's a definite deal. We are going to have to fly down to Seattle and get the passports set up today then, and then tomorrow we can take off. It will take me a couple of days to fly us to Italy, I'll need to stop for a rest in New York." Julian said agreeing, he already felt a bit excited at the prospect of another night with Laura, but first things first.

"After breakfast?" Laura asked as Julian sat back down and they continued with breakfast.

"Probably better, he'll need time to get it all together for us on such short notice." Julian nodded as he kept reading, scowled at a few of the predictions for the season and finished eating.

Julian used his satellite phone to call the number he had for the passport forger and said he would need three passports prepared within a few hours and he would pay very well for a quick job. The answer was as usual, a lot of money could buy you just about anything when it came down to it.

They got dressed, Julian wore his preferred leather jacket and Laura put hers on, it was similar to his except instead of red stripes it had green ones, she liked them as they matched her eyes. Another gift from Julian the last time he'd flown to buy them supplies. Laura tensed herself, she hadn't been around anyone except Julian for months, she reminded herself to just stay calm and follow Julian's lead.

"How long will it take us to get to Italy?" Laura asked as they left the house, Julian then started up his powers, first bringing the telekinetic field up around himself and Laura and they took off over quickly.

"I'd rather not push it too much, I'll need something in case we run into trouble, so we'll get to New York and from there I can also arrange to pick up a better navigation unit than the one I have since we'll be flying internationally. With the new unit, I can probably get us from New York to Italy in about five hours or so, I'd go faster but I want to save something in case we get into trouble when we land." Julian said as he thought about how much of his power he should expend.

He couldn't risk using too much, if they made a mistake over there and were found, it could get very dangerous. Wolverine would need probably hours to respond, as would Santo, Cessily and the rest of the New Mutants. They'd be on their own and his telekinesis was their best chance for a fast escape.

The flight was different with Laura along for the ride, so he slowed down and took her on a bit of a visual tour, showing her different areas he'd spotted since he'd started flying back and forth from their house to Vancouver every few weeks for new books, movies or other things. Laura seemed to be having fun watching the world from a bird's eye view, then sped up as he realized they still had a rather important transaction to make.

* * *

They arrived without incident, Julian set them down in a rather shady part of town but kept a sharp eye and so did Laura. Her enhanced senses detected nothing they couldn't handle as Julian found a boarded-up storefront and knocked on it five times, the door opened and they walked in.

The boarded-up store front concealed a very advanced cyber operation, as a fat man sitting behind a set of computer monitors and other electronic equipment waved them in.

"Passports right?" The fat man asked as Julian nodded and pulled out five thousand from his jacket, half up front was always the deal in this situation.

"That's right, I need three, US, Canadian and British passports, under the names Laura Modano, Laura Hull and Laura Thomas in that order. Place of residences are San Jose California, Ottawa, Ontario and London, UK, in that order as well." Julian said as he pushed the money into the man's hands.

"Sure, just a second, I'll need your lady friend here to stand for the picture." The man motioned for Laura to step in front of the camera near his computer, she did so and he took the picture.

"Piece of cake, come back in three hours. Need credit cards to go with them?" The fat man asked as Julian shook his head, turned around and left with Laura. Getting back outside, Julian wondered how they would spend the next three hours.

"What do you want to do?" Julian asked as he pulled out his GPS unit and scrolled for places of interest.

"I would like to go up there." Laura said pointing to the Space Needle, examining the Seattle skyline.

"Sure, why not?" Julian agreed as he fixed the location on the GPS and looked for a convenient bus route. It would take a couple of transfers but the first bus was nearby and they went to the nearby bus station and waited. They tried to not attract attention as they sat on the bench waiting for the bus, but found several men who looked like probable thugs eyeing the young couple.

Laura had been cataloging threats since they had arrived, but no confrontation was needed as the bus arrived and they got on, Julian fumbled through his jacket for change, then just shoved a five-dollar bill into the coin box for the two of them. They grabbed two seats and ignored everyone else, his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders, holding her hand as she rested her head on his shoulder.

The trip took them about thirty minutes and then they arrived. Julian worried about Laura being stuck in a crowded elevator with so many strange people, she'd barely had any human contact for months since they'd left the Institute and little real contact with them before that.

Laura didn't seem fazed at first, she did keep looking over her shoulder and evaluating everyone she saw for threats but didn't act on it and she held hands with him as they pretended to be just another young couple in a crowd. They waited their turn to get into the elevator to take them to the top of the Space Needle and Laura took deep breathes to calm herself against the idea of being confined in the elevator. The idea of any confinement was not welcome, especially when surrounded by strangers, one thing she'd learned well is that people were far more likely to use her then help, Julian and a few others being the sole exceptions for her.

Julian noticed her apprehension, so he leaned in and kissed her, she smiled and kissed him back, then they got in the elevator, Laura feeling a bit less anxious with the gentle reminder she wasn't alone.

They reached the top and filed out with the other visitors, Laura immediacy headed for towards the edge of the observation deck, dragging Julian behind as she practically ran to see how the city looked from the top.

"Wow…" Laura whispered taking in the view, while she did get to enjoy a rather unique perspective when Julian had taken her flying around the mountains or on the way here. This was different. Thousands, if not millions of people had probably come here for this specific view of the city, she was sharing in something that let her be just another person in the crowd. Birds flew by the windows as Laura slowly walked around the observation deck and took in the view, pulling Julian along eagerly. Laura made the rounds three times then announced she was hungry and yanked Julian off towards the restaurant.

"Where did you get the names from for your passports? You seemed rather intentional about the names when you mentioned them." Laura asked as they sat over lunch in the restaurant in the Needle.

"Hockey players, I was just reading about up-and-comers in a sports magazine when I had to pick names so I just took three off the list." Julian answered, shrugging at his decision of a last name.

"What is your interest in hockey anyway? It does not make sense considering you were born and raised in a city that sees snowfall on average once in a decade." Laura asked, wondering why Julian liked the sport.

"I don't know, I just do. I was channel-surfing when I was eight and saw all these guys on ice, knocking each other over while fighting for small black puck that they then took turns blasting away at each other's goalie like they were trying to kill the guy with it. It was a lot of fun to watch for an eight year old so I kept watching it. I got my parents to take me to some games, or at least send me to a game with one of my caretakers while they were off doing whatever. " Julian shrugged as he thought about his interest in the sport, just one of the things one picked up in their youth, like wanting to see giant robots smash each other apart in movies..

"I still do not quite understand it, it seems rather impractical the whole sport. Surely it would be simpler just to throw a flash-bang grenade at the goalie to stun him and then shoot for the net." Laura analyzed the game as she went through the menu.

"I'm pretty sure there's a rule against that." Julian went shaking his head.

"There seem to be a great many rules in all major sports that get in the way of winning the games, how do you put up with such frustrating limitations?" Laura inquired, it was a bit strange for her, her training had always had her going for the most direct solution.

"Well it's supposed to be a game, played for fun. If you started blinding the goalie with grenades and such it's not much fun anymore. You play to win with your skills and effort, have a good time and just enjoy what you're doing." Julian tried explaining, remembering that Laura had probably not placed for the Facility intramural soccer team or gotten to play any games while living on the streets as a prostitute.

"So it is like sex then, you work up a good sweat while avoiding pulling or breaking anything and having as much fun as possible." Laura surmised, which got a bit of a huff as they realized their waiter was standing over them.

"Yeah, if you uh, just give us a minute here we kinda haven't decided yet." Julian managed to mumble out as the woman standing over them walked off, he imagined the service wouldn't be that good from this point on.

"You know how on the way here I mentioned a few things we shouldn't talk about in public?" Julian tried to whisper as he blushed.

"This is just because this country was settled by a group of people who were so sexually repressed they thought the Calvinist movement was soft. If you had paid attention in the history classes I am sure you had would at the Xavier Institute you would probably be aware of all of this. The inability of people in this country to be comfortable with sexual relations is a leading social problem for your society." Laura lectured Julian, using her book learning knowledge from the last few months.

Reading about sex had seemed necessary during their quiet retreat if only to understand why Julian had always felt so conflicted about the physical intimacy they had shared at The Club. While living up to their cover had been unfortunately necessary and Julian had been responsible, albeit accidentally for it happening in his ill-planned rescue mission. Laura had forgiven him for it, telling him so to his face more than once. She wasn't sure when she had actually forgiven him internally though. Her anger with him had been real initially and lashed out at him physically after the first incident, but that had just been an attempt to take some control for herself more than punishing him. The second time she couldn't have blamed him, telling him to use a pleasure inducer had been a panicked move, trying to pick the alternative that would likely give Julian the least pause. She could tell there was no way he would consent to having some form of three way with one of the other slaves even to keep up their cover. Their encounter with Mistress had been a serious mistake of course, leaving them both feeling violated for having been made to couple like lions in mating season. The encounter had also directly led Julian to a more direct solution that had him give up what pride he had left and begged the people he had failed and betrayed for their help. Laura did know that without his efforts, Master, Bliss, Purge, Mistress and the other sadists might have twisted her into a willing sex slave and it could have been years before someone else tried to stop them. While she was resilient, one's self-identity was a fragile thing and she had not even had time to really build on when she'd been abducted. With the conditioning she had been forced into taking, she had feared she'd never escape being Doll even with Julian's help. Laura suspected that Julian was still suffering from some form of survivor's guilt following his trauma suffered during the attack on the Institute where he had lost his friends.

It had killed off a strong portion of his ego and the ego he had projected to infiltrate The Club had been an act than a reflection of his personality. Laura herself was suffering through the efforts of forming a human identity after not having one for sixteen years. Studying psychology hadn't been that helpful but she had learned a few things, mostly that she and Julian's personality disorders were likely to continue for some time.

"So what do you want to do after lunch?" Julian asked, hoping that waitress did actually come back because he was getting hungry.

"We are fixing that hair of yours, I may not know much about how relationships work yet but I do know I do not like them when the boy has longer hair than I do." Laura said pointing to Julian's mass of hair.

"It's not nearly that bad." Julian tried defending, but knew he should probably do something about it.

"If you had taken my offer to cut it for you we could have avoided this conversation already. I can not believe I actually coupled with you last night with you in such a disheveled appearance, there must be some truth to that line I read about love being blind." Laura teased him as Julian tried to find a way to take the conversation off of his hair.

"Could you not call it coupling? It sounds like you're giving a biology lecture or something." Julian asked Laura as he looked around, it was still a bit uncomfortable for him to mention the physical side of their relationship.

He still felt bits of lingering guilt from The Club and his ego had never really recovered from the Purifier battle. Julian had considered that the fact that his old ego had not really resurfaced it was a sign he wasn't meant to be that confident. The supremely overconfident Julian Keller he had been before didn't seem to be coming back. He was confident in his abilities, he had to in order to effectively use them but the confidence that made him and by extension the ones around him invincible was gone. That he knew and it was probably for the best, it had not led to anything good in the end.

"It is an accurate term for what we did. I know you referred to last night as lovemaking but it was also coupling, it would be difficult to argue it was not and it does provide an accurate description." Laura looked back at him with a stark look like she was in fact giving a seminar on the topic of sexual relations.

"How about something we can talk about and I don't feel like ducking under the table about? What do you want to go in Italy first?" Julian tried to change the subject, he wasn't really that prudish about sex but it felt strange talking with Laura about it.

"I think I would like to start in Rome, see the Collosseum, The Arch of Constantine, The Catacombs, The Pantheon and the Circus Maximus. The things anyone else would do if they went there, just slip into a crowd and see what it's like to be everyone else. I guess I just want to start seeing what I've missed all these…why are you smiling so much?" Laura asked as she tried to explain her reasons for wanting to go Italy first.

"You just said 'it's' and 'I've' instead of it is and I have, I think you're starting to actually talk like the rest of us." Julian said, still smiling, while he didn't mind her never using contractions, it did seem weird at times, especially when they were being more intimate.

"I would counter that argument and would suggest that your pedestrian speech patterns are corrupting mine. It would seem there is a downside to this relationship after all, I am quickly adopting the sub-standard speech you use." Laura replied, and then allowed herself to smile as she said it.

"Try and pay your girlfriend a compliment and what do you get? Abuse." Julian fake-scowled as Laura laughed a bit.

"Actually it feels liberating, speaking in such a manner for so long is not an easy habit to break. I guess it is because I am feeling so relaxed that …I've managed to become comfortable with ignoring past habits." Laura was still smiling and Julian enjoyed it, he never got tired of her smile and doubt he ever would.

"So that means no tying me up to the bed tonight?" Julian asked with a bit of a smirk, noticed Laura was just looking behind as he realized their waitress had just heard them and walked by quickly.

"Yeah, I think we should start looking for a Burger King. I don't think I want to know what would be in the food right now if we did get it." Julian went getting up, putting his jacket back on as Laura did the same.

"What do you mean?" Laura asked as they started walking back to the elevator to take them to the street.

"Basically, never anger the ones who bring you your food. They are subtle in their methods of revenge." Julian explained as they stood at the back of the elevator on the way down.

"Ah, so then you are worried about what you might eat when I cook dinner in case you have been unduly bothering me all day?" Laura asked prodding him with her elbow as they rode down.

"I wasn't particularly worried no, but now that I told you about a possible way to extract some subtle revenge I'm going to switch plates before we eat from now on." Julian said dismissing the possibility, then throwing her a wink.

"But now that I am aware of your preparation, would I not just have initially put something on to my plate knowing you were going to switch them anyway?" Laura countered as they exited the elevator.

"Yes but now that I've told you of my plan, that's what you will do and now I won't switch plates. The problem is since I just told you that, I fear I am now going to trap myself in a circle of paranoia that will end in my dying of malnutrition." Julian went on in a fake groan as Laura smiled at it.

"Don't worry, I would never do such a thing. Unless of course you continue to think it is amusing to use your telekinesis to keep the refrigerator shut when I am trying to open it." Laura said reassuringly, then poked him in the chest.

"Hey, not my fault that's a sticky handle…hey!" Julian responded, until Laura just shoved him a bit as they walked.

"You enjoy pushing me around too much." Julian came back, wrapped his arm around Laura's waist and pulled her in.

"You said to try and enjoy the simple things in life and pushing you around is one of the easiest things I have ever done." Laura trailed her finger across Julian's shirt, and then poked him.

Julian didn't say anything, he just kissed her as they stood in the entrance to the Space Needle, ignoring anyone else watching this.

"You are aware that attaching positive reinforcement to my bullying you is not likely going to give you an easier time of things?" Laura asked as they broke off the kiss.

"Can't help it, got a thing for kissing pretty girls." Julian said holding her hand in his as they started walking to find something to eat that probably wouldn't be sabotaged.

"If you want to keep kissing this pretty girl, that hair is getting fixed before we go overseas, I won't appear to be dating a hobo while on vacation." Laura said mussing with the long hair that Julian had picked up over their long stay up north.

"I was thinking, after Italy, where to next?" Julian asked as they walked down the street, actively looking for a place to get Julian's hair cut.

"We'll figure that out when we get bored of Italian food, floating cities and ancient Roman architecture." Laura replied as they kept walking, Julian stopped at that remark and Laura stopped when he did.

"Think about what you just said." Julian asked her with a mile-wide grin on his face.

"What?" Laura asked right back, thinking about to what she had said.

"You just said you'd go halfway around the world and then when you got there and knocked around the place for like a month, you'd just pick somewhere else to go. No real decision, just choosing to do whatever you wanted to do when you were done touring an entire country. You suggested we go somewhere, and then you said you'd just pick somewhere to go after that, no planning beyond the fact that you want to keep flying around the world without thinking about anything else." Julian was still smiling, he pulled her closer as they stood in their own little world on the busy sidewalk.

"It just felt natural, do something, go somewhere, see something I had never seen before." Laura said and realized that what she had said before had been without thinking really, it had just been what was on her mind in that moment.

"That's what I love about it, you did what anyone else would do, what I might to do, just do what felt right and go with it. You're deciding what you want to do, how you want to do it and when you want to do it. It was random, it was out of the blue and you went with it." Julian leaned in and kissed her.

"I should make random decisions more often." Laura said laughing as they kissed again.

* * *

When they returned to pick up Laura's new identification, Julian had his hair back to its old style much to Laura's preference. Julian liked having it back too, he'd just sort of forgotten about it when they'd been living alone, content just enjoying his time to himself and with Laura.

They grabbed a quick lunch in a Jack in the Box, Julian insisting if they were about to go on a world tour, he was at least going to have his favourite burger before he left the continent. Laura found the meal good enough, but found Julian's attachment to a particular fast food chain a bit strange.

Their last stop before coming to get new ID for Laura had been for a camera. Julian explained that while she might have near-perfect visual recall, he didn't and wanted to document their upcoming adventure. Now armed with a digital SLR camera, short and long distance lenses plus enough memory cards to take several thousand pictures, they returned to pick up Laura's ID, paid the remainder of the fee and took off back.

* * *

They returned back to their house quickly enough, Laura examined the passports and was satisfied with the detail provided.

Julian made several calls, letting Santo, Cessily and Wolverine know that they were going to be in Europe on a trip so don't worry if they don't hear from him for a while. Julian had made the effort to call them all once a week to let them know nothing was amiss, although he left out last night's _highlights _to himself, it was between him and Laura and that's all there was to it.

Laura had gone through their travel documentation again, ensuring it would pass muster and then set to packing everything. Julian helped out at first, but Laura threw him out when she saw what his idea of packing was. While Laura still had a strong sense of internal order from her Facility training, Julian was of the philosophy of 'I'll make it fit' when it came down to it.

Julian then started using his telekinesis after she banished him from helping her by continuously moving things just out of reach of where she had them a second ago. Laura then used his favourite shirt as a hostage, unsheathing her claws and threatening it unless he quit and he quickly gave up.

They played around a bit for the rest of the day, Julian took them flying for one last view of their isolated retreat before they would leave for good. Laura made him watch Monty Python and The Holy Grail one last time, as one would try to outdo the other in covering the dialogue. Julian was about halfway through covering the Knights of the Round Table dancing scene by doing the lyrics to "YMCA" when Laura tackled him off the couch. They played around with wrestling until Laura pinned him, which devolved into some sloppy making out for a while and feeling each other up in the process.

Julian was allowed to assist with making dinner, so far as he was allowed to work with preparation, but Laura still didn't trust him with much actual cooking and kept him off of that. Laura had no intention of having a last lousy meal in their home, spoiling their last night together.

Dinner was good enough, a ravioli dish to help get them in the mood for where they were going. Julian said he needed to sit down with his sketch pad for a bit, saying he thought he could get Laura perfectly if he did it right then. Laura didn't argue, Julian had been drawing her for months now, insisting he was always missing something and he seemed to be determined.

Julian worked for quite some time, his hand dancing across the page as he looked back at Laura now and then, as if perfectly measuring every part of her when he looked back.

"Okay, it's going to take me a while to do any final detail work, but I think I have it right this time. No fuck that, I do have it right this time." Julian said stopping and putting his pencil aside, Laura literally jumped from where she had been standing when he said so and landed on the couch next to him, Julian jumped at that.

"That's just scary." Julian said looking at the distance she jumped.

"No stalling, let's see it." Laura said as she grabbed the sketchbook from him and promptly lost her breath in surprise.

Julian had always done a very good job of drawing her, Laura had rarely seen why he seemed upset with some of his efforts, saying he was missing a bit of her. Laura didn't quite know what he meant but he seemed dedicated to the idea so she didn't question it. Laura felt like she was looking into a mirror, Julian had perfectly copied her it seemed, every detail translated on to the page.

Julian had worked very quickly in the time had taken, on the page it was a full drawing of her, dressed as she had been earlier when they flew down to Seattle. There was no background, Julian had personally thought it would take away from the picture having anything else around Laura. The key had been the final details of her face, he had wanted to make sure he had just the proper expression on it. Julian had seen that expression when they'd been at the Space Needle and he was able to commit it to memory. Laura's face was lit up a bit, her eyes a bit wider, but not too wide like she'd just seen fireworks for the first time, more of a general fascination with what she saw, and a desire to see more. Julian enjoyed that expression most of all besides the smile only he really got to see, it was appealing on a different level. Julian could see it in Laura's eyes and expression when they looked out on the view, she wanted to see more, do more, no hidden motive behind her eyes, just a wish to see more like the view, a hunger for adventure. It was the best thing he'd drawn in his life and he had known it when he was only a quarter way through it.

"Wow…" That was all Laura could manage, Julian had captured her expression, the one that she had on when she just saw something and wanted to see more, or do more, just stretch out what she knew and explore.

"So I take it you like it?" Julian asked as Laura examined the picture.

"It's beautiful…I didn't think you could draw detail like this." Laura said surprised, Julian did have a talent for drawing, but he'd never drawn anything so incredible before.

"What can I say beautiful, guess you just inspire my artistic side." Julian said leaning over and kissing her.

They kissed for a few moments, the sketch was tossed aside as Laura moved over into Julian's lap.

"You did not plan this specifically to charm yourself back into my bed tonight did you?" Laura asked as they continued to kiss.

"You are entirely too suspicious. I think you need to relax now." Julian responded as Laura found that familiar sensation of his telekinetic field enveloping her body.

"I would say this definitely does count as seduction. Not that I will complain though." Laura said in a more pleased tone as she felt the massaging movements of his telekinesis move up and down her body.

"I didn't think you would." Julian said as he continued to run the telekinetic massage across her body while he lifted her up in his arms and started walking towards what was now their shared bedroom.

"I have to say, I am still quite upset that you didn't reveal this ability sooner." Laura whispered as Julian laid her on the bed, continuing the telekinetic massage.

"I think I can get you to forgive me." Julian whispered back as he kept up the massage as he got and top and they started to kiss.

"You're off to a good start I would say." Laura said as she started to work Julian's shirt off.

Their lovemaking did not go on as long as the previous night, it was more playful, just enjoying one another's company. Falling asleep in each other's arms, they had restful dreams, the nightmares that had seemed to plague them both for so long seemed like distant memories.

* * *

Julian had awoken first, but contended himself with watching Laura sleep for a bit until she woke up, accused him of engaging in stalking behaviour before he kissed her and that remark was forgotten. They had a bit of fun playing around in the shower, but Laura reminded him he needed to fly them both to New York before departing for Italy the following day and they finished off.

Laura finished checking that they had their clothes, money and passports packed away, Julian had bumped in four times to make sure he had a fresh sketch pad packed away with pencils. Laura kept shooing him out to make sure he didn't mess anything up, he seemed determined to draw her everywhere they would be going. Laura finished it up, then helped Julian finish off what was left in the fridge. Laura had noted that the fridge had been running low yesterday when she had suggested the trip, rather than continuing the routine, she had decided to break it. It felt good to decide to get away from a routine, decide to do something by herself, it was not often she had enjoyed that in her life.

Julian looked around one last time at the private world that had been theirs and theirs alone for four and a half months, where both of them had come to understand life and love, feel it and give in to it. Julian smiled to himself, he never thought he'd feel like this, not ever when he had chased after Sofia for months did he ever imagine he'd be as happy as he was with Laura.

Laura popped her claws out and carved their initials into the wall before they left, leaving her mark. She had started her life there, beginning to understand what it meant to be Laura Kinney, while allowing herself to love Julian Keller and let him love her back. X-23 was a relic of the past in her mind, it that had been what she had been told to be, like she'd been told to be Doll before Julian rescued her from that life. Laura was choosing to be what she wanted to be and she now chose to spend the rest of her life with the one person who saw beyond what she had been, but what she had it within herself to become.

Julian looked back at Laura as they exited their private sanctuary, each of them carrying a bag, holding hands with her as he enveloped them in his telekinetic field and they flew off together. Julian smiled as he tore across the sky, increasing his speed to the point where he could outrun nearly anything man-made. The feeling of acceleration never got old, the freedom, and no one was telling him or Laura what to do, they could do whatever they wanted. It was the best feeling he'd had in his entire life, no limits, no knowing where they'd be in a month, six months or ten years from then. Julian didn't really care, as long as the dark-haired beauty that had helped him save his soul was with him. He had learned to embrace life again, put old nightmares behind and be a better man than he ever thought he could be.

* * *

Authors Notes: Considered doing a chapter 13 for an Epilogue for what happened later on, but found it just didn't meld with the rest of the story. Really was set around Julian and Laura and their story, so having them come back to the X-Men or something like that after a few years of travelling the world didn't seem to fit the style unless I did a sequel to it and I don't plan on doing one. Go with your imagination on where the adventure went from here.

Already working on the next project, Hellion/X-23, Agents of SHIELD, with AU timelines for the characters, but more in canon with recent Marvel events. Will take some time to write and complete I suspect, this story was written over the course of 15 days more or less, with it being basically all I did for the first week. Don't think I can have the next one up as fast, but I'll post updates on how I think it is going on my profile.


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